Project Silverback
by DarkJak2050
Summary: Alpha Squad; a former squad of a once highly rated mercenary unit called Thunder Crash. This is their story as they attempt to live normal lives in a female dominated society after Thunder Crash's disbandment, due to the Infinite Stratos. Until they recieve a message from someone who they've least expected. Contains moderate to Strong Language. On Hold until Further Notice...
1. Phase 1-0 (Prologue)

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to IS: Infinite Stratos. This Fanfic is made just for entertainment and not for commercial use in anyway.

Full Plot Summary:

Alpha Squad; a former squad of a once highly rated mercenary unit called Thunder Crash. Thunder Crash was disbanded due to the Infinite Stratos, but was attacked on the night of it's disbandment. 6 months after surviving the attack, Alpha Squad's now living in a female dominated society in an attempt to live normal lives. But the night of Thunder Crash's disbandment continues to haunt Eric "Hot Shot" Anderson, the squad captain of Alpha Squad. One day, Alpha Squad recieves a message from someone who they've least expected. A message that'll allow Eric "Hot Shot" Anderson to face the ghost of his past...

Author's Note: If this isn't the kind of Fanfic for IS: Infinite Stratos you're looking for, then I strongly advice that you turn around now, thank you. And for those who are interested, enjoy.

* * *

><p>My name is Eric Anderson or "Hot Shot" as I'm referred to by my brothers.<p>

A former squad captain of a now "disbanded" mercenary for hire unit, Thunder Crash. Thunder Crash has been in service for over 50 years. The main purpose of it is to assist the US Armed Forces and its military allies by performing missions that ranged from military escorts, to behind enemy lines special-ops. To "enlist" into Thunder Crash takes a "special" requirement. Despite the tasks that were assigned to us, the average age of Thunder Crash went around 16-17 years old. Yeah, Thunder Crash comprised of teenage boys, who had a serious juvenile delinquent record. Basically, all of us were all brought in from the lowest parts of society.

Due to the training provided by the US Navy Seals and US Army Rangers, we've been refined from scum on the streets, to professional combat killing machines. And to make sure the discipline's in check; Thunder Crash is stationed in Japan, under the supervision of the Japan Self-Defense Force for their reputation of discipline. Wherever we went on assignments, we take it seriously. Kinda felt like that we're peacekeepers. Even though we were disruptors of peace in a way.

Then, everything changed when the Infinite Stratos was introduced…

The Infinite Stratos, or IS for short, is a powered exoskeleton suit that was originally used for space exploration, but was scoffed at. (A powered exoskeleton suit? A mech is more like it). Then, Tabane Shinonono unveiled her IS four years later, possessing weapon technology and combat capabilities that far surpasses that of any current weapons system.

Fortunately, the Alaska Treaty was enacted to forbid the IS for being used in any arms conflict or war, and that existing IS's were to be equally distributed to all nations to prevent one nation from overpowering the others.

But the IS had made a huge impact on society. It can only be used by women, thus breaking the balance of power between men and women, putting women at the top of the hierarchy over men in society.

With that, came the female protection priority system; "female protection priority system"? "Female favoritism" is more like it…

Six years had passed since Tabane Shinonono unveiled the IS. And during those six years, was my time in Thunder Crash.

I "enlisted" at the age of 10, coming from a street gang that was attempting to murder the leader of a rival gang.

At age 11, I completed my training and was assigned to my squad, then sent out on my first mission. These first missions were recon missions, being in no direct way of actual combat. And around this time was when Tabane Shinonono unveiled her version of the IS.

At age 13, my squad was dispatched on its first combat mission to clear out a stock pile of drugs in South America. It was there that I killed a person for the first time. When someone kills a person for the first time, they normally have a moment of thought about it or just breakdown entirely. But with me, I just had a moment of thought. And then continued on to complete the mission. This is where I earned the nickname "Hot Shot", for my sharpshooting skills.

At age 14, I was promoted to the rank of squad captain, for having the initiative to lead my squad when my captain was missing in action. Later, I was assigned to lead my own squad, Alpha Squad.

At age 16, unknowingly, I completed my final mission with Alpha Squad, which was to rescue a CIA agent behind enemy lines. 2 days after completing my final mission, I made a vow of brotherhood with my squad and another squad captain. And then Thunder Crash "disbanded".

Speaking of which, here's my squad and brothers.

Eddie "Sideswipe" Garcia, 17 years old. A childhood friend of mine and right hand man. He was "enlisted" into Thunder Crash at the same time as me and his older brother, Derrick "Shockwave" Garcia; in fact, he and his brother were in the same street gang I was in. With the way he attacks his enemies by attacking them from where they least expect, he earned the nickname "Sideswipe". Not only he's a skilled fighter, he's an excellent lookout.

Brian "Ratchet" Mclurg, 17 years old. He's our field/combat engineer with a love for machine and computers. He doesn't really show it until he gets his hands dirty, which is by building/repairing them faster than all of Thunder Crash's engineers. That is where he got the nickname "Ratchet". Brian can practically build/fix anything, just as long as he has the right parts. Because of his talents with machines and computers at a young age, top IS Engineers from all over the globe offered Brian positions that are related to the development of the IS shortly before Thunder Crash "disbanded". But due to his "personal reasons", he declined all of those position offers without hesitation.

Clayton "Scourge" Maddox, 18 years old. We sometimes call him "Clay" for short of his real name. All I gotta say about him is that he's basically full of energy. He uses it amp up those around him. Although his energy's real, he sometimes over exaggerates it around his buddies in order to cheer them up. And when he's in combat, he virtually never shows any signs fear, even when being outnumbered. Although, he has tendencies of "overdoing" things when it comes to taking down enemies. This is where he got the nickname "Scourge".

There was also a fifth member in Alpha Squad, but he rarely went on assignments with us. In fact, he's one of those guys who prefer to go solo and he's good at it too. His name's Tito "Ironhide" Kaliso, age 19. I can't say much about him other than he's quite, but lethal. Where he got the nickname "Ironhide", I'm guessing it's because he's tough, real tough considering that he goes solo on his assignments. That's all I'm gonna say. And when he got news that Thunder Crash was disbanding, he just took off and left. It's like that he vanished.

And as for the other Squad Captain who vowed the brotherhood with me and Alpha Squad; he is Derrick "Shockwave" Garcia, Sideswipe's older brother at age 21. He "enlisted" in Thunder Crash at the same as me and Sideswipe. He's a professional warrior, getting promoted to the rank of squad captain within 2 years of being in Thunder Crash. Shortly after, he was leading his own squad, Delta Squad. He's also a natural born leader, being calm and collected no matter how dire the situation is. But to me, he's an older brother. I've lost count of how many times he saved my life; he risked his ass for not only me, but for Sideswipe as well. And it's because of him; we've made it to where we are. I sure wish I could pay him back for all those times now…

Yeah, that's my squad and brothers.

6 months had passed after Thunder Crash "disbanded". I'm now 17 years old, attending high school just like your typical teenage boy. It was lunch time, and I was up on the rooftop of the school building, looking at the surrounding area. The school is set in a suburban area, _(just like an average high school you see in anime/manga)_. As I was looking at the surrounding area, I remember the final debriefing I had with General Magnus, the General of the Thunder Crash mercenaries, and the night of the "disbandment", like it was yesterday.

* * *

><p>General Magnus is sitting at his desk concluding my debriefing. Shortly after, he pulled out a packet of papers from a drawer in his desk and handed it to me.<p>

"That's the new division and special ops list. Thunder Crash is not on it."

He explains while I analyze the list.

"You guys have 72 hours to clean things up, and then you'll have to vacate the base."

I stopped analyzing the list and turned my attention towards General Magnus.

"The governments have decided to cut our disbandment and discharge orders right now."

I then responded.

"General, you telling me that there's no more room left for a division of trained weapons of destruction?"

"The fighting is no longer done on the warzones, Anderson. Now all the bloodshed and peace keeping are being done with the Infinite Stratos, because of the recent advancement with the 3rd generation IS prototypes. Warriors like us are becoming dinosaurs." He says with a sadden look.

"There's gotta be something for us to do." I replied

General Magnus let out a sigh, as he began standing up behind his desk.

"I'm sorry, Captain, I've done all I could to keep us going. You guys did your jobs, and you've done them well. Good luck." He says while sticking his hand out, as if to make a handshake.

I put my right hand out and grasped his, forming a handshake.

After breaking off, I salute to General Magnus. And he saluted back at me… one… last… time…

* * *

><p>As if the Infinite Stratos "replacing us" wasn't bad enough...<p>

I then began to remember the final night back at the base; my brothers and I were hanging outside of the base with our fellow mercenaries who were still around. All of us gathered around a bonfire and talking about what future plans we had now that our days as mercenaries are done. Although, Ratchet wasn't with us because he was clearing up the computer files and documents in Thunder Crash's computer database. But he does talk to us sometimes through the radio. Same goes with Shockwave, but he was watching over things in the base making sure that the clean up was going smoothly. For most of the night, we were just talking, enjoying ourselves and preparing to vacate the base the next morning. Or so we thought…

This is where our story begins…

* * *

><p>Its dark, where am I? I was talking with Sideswipe and Scourge about our future plans now that Thunder Crash is disbanded. Then huge explosions happened 10 meters away from us and I find myself in complete darkness. Shortly after, I hear a faint voice…<p>

"Hot Shot!"

I slowly open my eyes half-way, finding myself lying on the ground. Then I hear that voice again.

"Hot Shot, are you alright? Come on, get up!"

A voice that I recognize, it was Eddie "Sideswipe" Garcia's, long time childhood friend and right-hand man. Along with Sideswipe's voice, I hear gunfire all over the place. I struggle to get up while looking what's going around me. As I stood up, I see Sideswipe, a semi-buffed teenage Spanish American boy 5 meters away from me leaning his back against a Humvee that's been turned over on its side, firing his sidearm at a group of military soldiers on the other side of the Humvee.

"We got some over there, Sideswipe." said another voice, sounding a little rougher than Sideswipe's.

Crouching next to him on his left is Clayton "Scourge" Maddox, a tall, buffed young adult African American male providing support fire with his handheld SMG (Sub-Machine Gun). The next thing I see, are my fellow mercenaries dropping to the ground. Getting what's generally going on, I dual wield both of my sidearms, both being semi-automatic pistols, and start firing at the bastards that attacked us.

"You're mine now!" I shout before shooting 4 shots at the same group of soldiers firing at Sideswipe and Scourge.

All four shots hit each soldier right in the forehead, but with these shots being as powerful as a .50 cal round, their heads splatter all over leaving their bodies falling to the ground. Then, I ran towards Sideswipe and Scourge.

"What the hell's going on here?" I asked when I got to them.

"I guess the time of vacancy of this base has been bumped up by a day." Scourge replies.

"Shit. They couldn't have just waited until the next morning, huh?" I said while firing at a pair of soldiers rushing in on our position, killing them.

"Did you contact the base?" I asked Sideswipe and Scourge.

"Yeah, Shockwave's got them taking defensive measures as we speak." Sideswipe answers back.

"You got a plan, Hot Shot?" Scourge asks.

I took a better look to assess the situation. I counted off how many guys we have left, including us, which brings us to 18 left. The base is 250 meters behind our position, and we're surrounded on 2 sides, in front, and on our right. We're holding our grounds fine, but things will turn to shit if we stay here for too long.

"Here's the plan; get off of your ass and start taking it too them!" I say while moving to Sideswipe's right side.

Scourge chuckles a little bit. Then I continue.

"We'll hold our ground here for now and when there's a break; we'll bolt back towards the base and begin our counter-attack."

"Right." Sideswipe replies. But his eyes open up, and then he immediately raises his pistol, shoots at my head just missing my left ear by 1 centimeter. I felt something splatter on the back of my head; I turned around to see an enemy soldier that had his head blown off, falling on his back with his knife in hand. Then I turned back towards Sideswipe.

"Thanks man."

"Hey, we're brothers. We always watch each other's backs." He replies.

"Hey guys, you'd better see this." Scourge says while checking the dead soldier's body. We turned and approach him.

"Look..." Scourge shows the symbol on the dead soldier's right arm to us.

"What the hell?" Sideswipe exclaims.

On the symbol, we see the Kanji characters, "自衛隊,", which can be read as "Jieitai". _(Correct me if I'm wrong.)_ Upon reading this, my eyes opened up and just like Sideswipe, I exclaimed.

"Japan Self-Defense Force?"

"Why the hell are they attacking us? I thought we're on their side!" Sideswipe asks.

"I don't know, Sideswipe, you wanna ask 'em?" I answered back while turning my attention towards more JSDF soldiers on our right firing at us.

"Whatever the reason is, there's only one way out of this. Scourge!"

"Way ahead of you." Scourge replies while at the same time he pulls out a Claymore Frag Grenade _(Grenade version of the Claymore Mine)_, throws it at the squad of JSDF soldiers on our right…

*Beep beep beep*

*DUHHHN!*

The Claymore Grenade blows up, killing the whole JSDF squad.

"Boom, baby!" Scourge yells. This is exactly the break that we need.

"Alright, fallback! Fallback!" I bellowed while turning towards the base and began running. Sideswipe, Scourge and our remaining 15 guys began to follow suit. And not a moment too soon. Upon looking back, more JSDF soldiers arrive, firing and in pursuit of us.

"If you got smokes, use them now to provide cover." I shouted out while running back towards the base.

Some of our guys dropped some smoke grenades on the spot, shooting out thick smoke providing cover for us. With that, we lost some of the pursuers. While running back towards the base, I reach into my right pocket, pull out my headset and place it on my right ear. Shortly after we had more pursuers after us. Some of our guys fired back at them once every now and then, killing them. Seeing this, I put my index and middle fingers on the earpiece and shouted into the microphone.

"Ratchet, we're being overrun with JSDF. Get the Wolf Pack out here!"

"_What, JSDF? Why the hell are they attacking us?" _Ratchet asks back through the earpiece.

"We'll figure that out later. For now, get the Wolf Pack out here!"

"_Fine, but it's going to be danger close. You better get your asses back in here!" _Ratchet replies reluctantly.

"Just fire them up!" I barked into the microphone.

_(The Wolf Pack is just like the Predator drone that the US armed forces use, but it's 1 1/2 times the size of its predator cousins and it's specifically designed for Aerial Assault. And just like the Wolf, these drones attack in packs consisting of 5-7 drones, hence the name.)_

We're 130 meters away from the base and we see more of our guys about 40-50 meters near the left side of the entrance of the base prepping for the counter-attack.

"Contact!" Sideswipe shouts out, pointing on our right side. A small group of JSDF soldiers are about to fire at us.

"Take cover!" I bellowed as bullets rained down on us. Everybody scattered, taking cover behind some of the reinforced shipment creates and small containers nearby.

"Gyaaa!"

"Ah-ahhh!"

"No!" Sideswipe cries.

While taking cover behind a small container, I turn around and see that two of our own guys have been shot. One got hit in the center of his chest, killing him instantly. The other was shot in the left upper thigh causing him to fall down, face first but still alive. He started to crawl towards us and Scourge was about to go after him but as he did, JSDF shot him multiple times in the back, killing him.

"Damn it!" Scourge snarls while retreating back towards us.

JSDF soldiers got us pinned down; if we stay here any longer, the Wolf Pack's gonna end up killing us with the JSDF.

"Aaaaaggghhhh! Now I'm pissed!" In frustration, I pulled out three Claymore Grenades and threw them at the JSDF.

"Fire in the hole!" I shout, and everyone puts their heads down.

*Beep beep beep*

*DUHHHN!*

*DUHHHN!*

*DUHHHN!*

Small chunks of dirt, sand and body parts are sent flying all over the place, some of them landing on us.

"Ugh, man. That was nasty." Sideswipes commented.

I look out to see if its all clear to continue our retreat, while Sideswipe and Scourge were doing an ammo check on everyone.

"All clear, keep moving! We'll get the casualty count later when this shit's over."

The 16 of us broke out of cover and resumed our retreat towards the base. Then Sideswipe came up to me about the ammo check.

"These guys are low on ammo, Hot Shot."

"Alright." I replied, and then I turned my head back towards our remaining 13 guys as I ran.

"Keep moving! Shoot only when you really have to, got that?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" our remaining guys yelled.

We're now 90 meters away from the base and I spot something high up in the night sky above the base, descending at a high speed.

"Heads up!" I assumed the Wolf Pack's inbound.

"Uh, Hot Shot. That doesn't look good." Scourge said while looking at what I assumed was the Wolf Pack.

Then, it came to a thunderous crash near the guys that are preparing the counter-attack. I couldn't tell really because we're still far away from it. A short moment later, we saw a cloud of smoke burst out from the crash site. We hurried over but when the smoke cleared, there stood a white mech with light blue lining, standing at around 3 meters tall, with a feminine body figure, wings appearing that they're not physically attached to its back, and it's wielding an energy sword in its right hand. Around it were the bodies of the guys that were preparing the counter-attack lying on the ground literally cut in half, making a huge pool of blood around the mech like figure. Then, it started charging towards us.

"Oh shit!" I shouted.

"Here it comes!" Sideswipe alerting everyone.

As it got closer, we all broke away, completely scattering all over the place. While doing so, I got a better look at it to confirm what it is. And to my biggest fear, I figured it out; it's the one thing that disbanded Thunder Crash, the one thing that broke the balance of power, putting women at the top of the hierarchy over men. This is a…

"INFINITE STRATOS!" I bellowed.

The Infinite Stratos chased down 6 of our guys, they tried to fight back, but it was futile. All I can hear are the screaming and crying of my fellow mercenaries getting killed at the hands of a weapon that can only be used by women. The IS turns her attention towards me, Sideswipe and Scourge.

"Goddamn it! How do we kill this thing?" Sideswipe frustratingly asks.

The IS charges towards us, with her energy sword held high up about to swing it down like a samurai. We all held our ground but at the last minute, we all dove out of the way.

"That's a big-ass bitch!" Scourge commenting on the IS.

"Ratchet, where's the damn Wolf Pack?" I yelled into the microphone of my headset.

"_The drones are gonna be inbound soon, hurry!" _Ratchet urgently replies.

The IS continues with her relentless attacks. Focusing on Sideswipe, swinging her sword at him. Sideswipes can only dodge her attacks for so long, but Scourge took advantage of this by running and jumping on the back of the IS and tagging her with 5 grenades on her right arm; 3 Claymore Grenades and 2 Smoke Grenades. Immediately after tagging the grenades on her, Scourge jumped off.

"Sideswipe, get out of there!" Scourge alerting Sideswipe.

Sideswipe was continuously dodging the IS's attacks. But when he saw the chance, he dove straight forward, going right between her legs and running towards me and Scourge. Then 5 seconds later…

*Beep beep beep*

*DUHHHN!*

*DUHHHN!*

*DUHHHN!*

The Claymore Grenades blew the sword out of the IS's hand and after the 3rd Claymore Grenade went off, the smoke grenades began shooting out thick smoke to disrupt her vision. But just as we're about to take a small breather, the JSDF started attacking again, picking up from where the IS left off. I turned on my headset to contact Ratchet again as bullets hit me on my combat armor, ricocheting off of it. Others whizzes by, missing me by mere millimeters.

"Ratchet, we need that Wolf Pack!" I shouted into the microphone.

"_They're firing… NOW!" _Ratchet shouts back.

An explosion went off 20 meters away from us. Then another explosion, this time it took out the JSDF. Flying overhead of us was the Wolf Pack, making a second round trip to continue with the counter-attack.

"Run! Everyone, get inside the base!" I bellowed and began running towards the base.

Sideswipe, Scourge and our 7 remaining mercenaries began running towards the base, while the Wolf Pack continues the massive counter-attack with Sidewinders/Hellfire missiles, High Explosives and Anti-Tank rounds.

I was the first to reach the base but I waited for the others, providing covering fire. The 7 remaining mercenaries were close behind.

"Go go go!" I urged them as they get inside while I provide covering fire.

They got inside with Sideswipe and Scourge rounding up the pack. Scourge got inside, and Sideswipe's the last one we're all waiting on.

"Come on, Sideswipe!" I yell as I saw him getting closer and closer, still providing covering fire. When he was 3 meters away…

*BOOM!*

A shot from the Wolf Pack went off behind Sideswipe, knocking him down face first.

"Ah shit…" I snarled.

I bolted out towards Sideswipe to get him inside but then, the IS showed up again and jumped up to continue her attack.

"_Come on, make it in time!"_

I managed to get to Sideswipe, grabbed him by the back collar of his armor and, on pure adrenaline, threw him into the base with Scourge catching and setting him on the floor. Then I bolted back towards the base. And not a second too soon, because the IS came down, landing in the same spot from where I threw Sideswipe.

Once I got inside, the doors slammed shut right behind me. Now that we're inside, we're regrouping, loading up on weapons, armoring up, and gathering at the doors. I then turned towards Sideswipe, who was sitting on the floor, to see if he's okay as a series of muffled explosions are going on just on the other side of the doors.

"I'm alright man, thanks. Tezla knows how to make combat armor." He said as I approached him.

"Yeah." Agreeing with him.

"And it's like what you said when we were out there. Speaking of which, I say that we're even now."

Sideswipe lets out a small chuckle as he gets up.

While taking a breather from what happened outside, the series of muffled explosions continues on the other side of the doors. The Wolf Pack was engaging on the IS, sending everything it had on her. The explosions went on for the next 10 seconds, 10 seconds that felt like 10 minutes. And when the last explosion went off, the jet engines from the Wolf Pack roared off, far into the distance. Leaving us with a moment of tensed silence.

"…"

All of us were waiting to see if it's all clear or not, before Scourge broke the tensed silence.

"Did we blow that bitch up?"

"…"

*BANG!*

A huge bulge appeared on the doors, and most of us raised our weapons up, aiming at the door. While others stepped/jumped back a bit.

*BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!*

The bulge on the doors was getting bigger and bigger with every hit.

*BANG!*

"…"

Just when the banging stopped…

*BA-BOOM!*

A part of the wall above the front doors was broken in, leaving a hole that's 3-4 meters in diameter. We all got out of the way of the falling debris, after dodging the debris; we saw what was standing in the hole in the wall above the front doors and what made it.

"Shit!" I yelled out loud.

It was the Infinite Stratos, looking virtually unharmed after the Wolf Pack's constant barrage. Some of us actually looked terrified that it survived such an attack when seeing it. When the IS pilot saw this, she let out a sinister laughter.

"Did you really think something as weak as that can stop an IS?" She asked.

To respond to her question, we all raised our weapons up at her, ready to shoot. She responds back with a small evil laugh and a sinister smile on her face, as she brings out her energy sword. Then she jumps straight down, holding her sword with both hands overhead about to swing it down at us.

* * *

><p>The chime from the school's intercom system had knocked me out of my memories. When the chime ended, a message broadcasted through the school's intercom system.<p>

"Will Eric Anderson, Eddie Garcia, Brian Mclurg and Clayton Maddox, please report to the Faculty room immediately."

I turned around and leaned my back against the railing, taking in some breaths to clear out my thoughts. Then the message was broadcasted again.

"Repeat; Eric Anderson, Eddie Garcia, Brian Mclurg and Clayton Maddox, please report to the Faculty room immediately."

"Yeah, I heard you the first time." I replied in a cold tone as I started walking towards the door that lead back downstairs into the school building.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span>

Alright, that's the end of the prologue. Whether I'll continue this or not, will be up to you guys. And another thing, Anonymous Reviewers are not allowed.


	2. Phase 1-1

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to IS: Infinite Stratos. This Fanfic is made just for entertainment and not for commercial use in anyway.

Author's Note: Okay, in this chapter, Alpha Squad refers to each other by their real names. So just a reminder:

Eric "Hot Shot" Anderson

Eddie "Sideswipe" Garcia

Brian "Ratchet" Mclurg

Clayton/Clay "Scourge" Maddox

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:21 PM, May 16 2021. Ishiyama High School, Odaiba, Japan.<strong>_

I can hear the voices of the other students coming from the hallway as I made my way down the stairs. The school building has three floors, one floor for each year. The first floor is for the first year students and the Faculty room. Second years are on the second floor and the third floor for the third years.

In case you're wondering, Sideswipe, Ratchet, Scourge and I are second year students here. Don't even ask. It's been a long 6 months. Oh yeah, under some cases, my brothers and I refer to each other by our real names. When it's just us, we refer to each other by our nicknames. But when there are other people around or when we're out in public, we refer to each other by our real names.

When I reached the third floor, I saw a group of 3 third year students hanging out on the window side of the hallway; just talking and carelessly laughing their heads off, even though they have college entrance exams to concentrate on. These guys are lucky that they had never experienced something that my brothers and I did, or maybe they never will. Sometimes, I even envy these guys for having normal a life; as far as "normal" goes for guys with the Infinite Stratos in the picture. These guys continued to have their talk as I pass by them, going down the next flight of stairs to the second floor.

As I reached the second floor, a third year student began walking towards the stairs leading up to the third floor. Just as we pass by each other, he spoke to me.

"Hey, Anderson."

I turned my attention towards the third year student.

"Are you looking for Garcia?"

Well, since me and my bros have been called up to the Faculty room, I might as well pick them up on the way there.

"It's alright. I know where to find him." I replied in a firm tone.

We then continued going our own ways. Now I have to take a small detour before going to the Faculty room.

Normally during lunch, my bros and I always hang out with each other in the school's cafeteria. But given the time in the term, they're not. And I don't blame them for doing their own thing during lunch. It's great to be hanging out with each other and all, but sometimes we just need some time for ourselves.

I soon reached classroom 2-C, there's a reason I came to this one classroom. It's because this is Sideswipe's classroom. I could hear some chattering going on inside before I opened the door, and for sure none of these voices belonged to Sideswipe's.

Upon opening the door, I see some of the second year students in small groups talking and hanging out. Just like the third year students I saw in the hallway not too long ago. But there's one second year student sitting at his desk by himself, hard at work. His hair is black, military crew cut but also a bit flat top and he's not Japanese, he's Spanish. And it may not look like it when he's sitting down, but he's a bit shorter than me at 5 feet, 9 inches.

On his desk were 3 textbooks stacked on one side, and in front of him were his math book and a small notebook. It seems that he's jotting down some important notes, or he was just doing his homework. I approached the student who's at work and knocked on his desk.

"Come on, Eddie. We've been summoned."

The student that was at work is Sideswipe; he stopped moving his pencil and then looked up towards me.

"I got Mid-Terms to get ready for, Eric. If we don't study, we don't pass, remember?"

This is why Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge have been going off doing their own thing during lunch time recently. It's around Mid-May, and during this time is when students normally try to get an early start on getting ready for the Mid-Term exams.

"I think the notebooks can cope without you for a while. And besides, Mid-Terms are 1-2 weeks away."

Sideswipe lets out a semi-large sigh as he puts his pencil down, closes his math book and notebook, then gets up from his desk.

"Alright, let's make this quick."

We then head out of the classroom, and began making our way towards the Faculty room.

"So, what do you think they want?" Sideswipe asks.

"Who knows what they want?" I replied.

"Normally when someone gets called up to the faculty room, it means trouble." Sideswipe asked.

"One person getting called up to the Faculty room is one thing, but four? I'm guessing that something big must be up." I replied back.

*Bang.*

"Wait…" Sideswipe stops for a bit.

As we were going down the stairs to the first floor, Sideswipe and I heard a noise nearby.

*Bang. Bang.*

"You hear that?" he asked.

*Bang.*

"Yeah, whatever it is, it isn't good." We continued walking down the stairs.

By the time we reached the first floor, we found the source of the noise.

"Ugh!"

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

A student was beating on a vending machine as if it ate his money. The student's huge, and I mean as in tall and muscular. His hair is black, buzz-cut and his skin color is that of an African-American. There's only one student in this whole school that fits this description. It's Scourge.

*Bang! Bang!*

Sideswipe and I walk up to Scourge who was still beating on the vending machine.

"Come on, Clay. Faculty wants to see us". Sideswipe said to Scourge.

Scourge was still beating on the vending machine, and then he replied.

"Alright alright, just give me a minute."

"Ugh!" Scourge shoulder-barges the vending machine, listening to a clanking sound that's coming from the inside. But nothing comes out.

"Man, nearly had it that time." Scourge said in a slightly disappointed tone.

"That vending machine is school property. You're going to get busted for doing that, man." Sideswipe warns.

"Heh heh, well that's the price I'm willing to pay." Scourge replies.

"Guys, Faculty room, now!" I said to both Sideswipe and Scourge in a firm tone.

Scourge gives the vending machine one final hit before backing away from it, slightly throwing his hands up out of frustration as he walks towards me and Sideswipe.

The three of us walked towards the Faculty room. As we're walking, some of the first year students that are in the hallway were just going on and about with their own business. Some of them actually backed up a bit when we passed by them, as if they were being intimidated. The intimidation they were getting was mainly from Scourge. With him standing at a height of 6 feet, 3 inches tall and being very muscular for an 18 year old, I don't blame them.

We're not even going to bother looking for Ratchet. Knowing him, he's probably there at the Faculty room waiting for us.

We've passed by a lot of students on our way to the Faculty room, and out of all the students we passed, not a single one of them is a girl. There's a reason for this; this high school that Sideswipe, Ratchet, Scourge and I are in, is an all-boys private school. Yeah, an all-boys private school, this is all due to the "female protection priority" system the government had set up.

It's kind of amazing on how one piece; just one piece of machinery can easily break the balance of power.

With the Infinite Stratos can only be used by women, the government had it set up so that kids at a very young age are separated into same-gender schools. Starting from elementary, to all the way up to high school (well some actually). And get this; the government spends more funding on the girls' side, practically leaving us guys out in the cold at times. I'm not kidding, this is how it's been since the IS popped up in the picture.

'Female protection priority system' my ass… 'Female favoritism' is what my bros and I call it. Just thinking about it makes me want to barf.

Continuing on with my "bantering ", we finally reached the Faculty room. We can hear the commotion that's going on in the room as we walked up to the doorway. When we got to the doorway, it was being blocked off by a student who's standing in there, looking into the Faculty room and leaning his left shoulder on the doorway.

His hair is blond, faded, but a little bushy. And his skin is slightly more tanned than your average Japanese male. But truth be told, he's actually German. I can tell because he's the only blonde haired student in this school that has that kind of hair style. He's just as tall as me; standing at 5 feet, 10 inches tall. As for his physical build, he's more buffed than your average 17 year old male, but not as physically built as Scourge. I'd say about two-thirds of Scourge's build actually.

"The Faculty managed to get in between Eddie and his notebooks, Brian. This better be good." I spoke to the student.

The student then turned around towards me, Sideswipe and Scourge.

"Good? No. A shocker? Maybe. Guess which rat just came crawling out of the sewers." The student responds, revealing that it's Ratchet.

"Is there a prize for getting it right?" I asked in a firm tone.

"Oh sure, today's prize is the schematic of the IS Core." Ratchet answers sarcastically.

I respond back with a cold stare.

"Who is it?"

"…"

"General Magnus..."

"..."

"No shit..." I coldly answered back.

"Tch... Ex-General Magnus." Scourge cuts in with a cold tone, walking up next to me on my left side.

"That asshole! He ran out on us six months ago. What is he expecting now, a red carpet?" Sideswipe joining in as he walks up next to me on my right side.

"Who knows?" Ratchet responds before pulling out his cell phone.

"Hold on."

He listens in on it before replying.

"Yeah, all of us are here. We'll see you down there." Ratchet then closes his cell phone and puts it back in his pocket.

"Alright, his motorcade's at the front of the school." Ratchet telling us. I then take lead on going to the front of the school building with Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge following closely behind.

Scourge then continues the conversation.

"I wonder where he managed to get a motorcade. He sure as hell didn't leave with one."

"He never called, he never sent any 'Get Well' cards while we were in the hospital..." I replied.

"Oh, I can't wait to hear this shit!" Sideswipe comments.

"Remind me to pop some popcorn on the way down there." Ratchet jokingly responds.

"Well, if there's one thing for sure, it's that this is going to give us a lot of unwanted attention when this is done and over." I said towards Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge.

* * *

><p>I took a look at the windows of the school building just as got outside in the front court yard. I not much to my surprise, there are a lot of students looking down through the windows from their classrooms, curious as to see what's going on.<p>

But what really caught their attention, was the motorcade that was parked along the sidewalk by the school's front gate.

There was a teacher wielding a Kendo stick, standing by the front gate talking to a tall man who's on the other side of it. The man the teacher is talking to is probably around 6 feet tall. With black, military crew-cut hair and he's wearing some sort of business suit.

To be honest, he looks more like a boss of a Yakuza gang. And he's not alone, standing behind him are two guys wearing what appears to be some sort of armor and they're standing there like bodyguards.

"He's got a lot of nerve to show his face in front of us again after what happened." Sideswipe looking at the man wearing the business suit, indicating that it's Magnus.

I tried to take a better look at the armor those two men are wearing to confirm whether or not it's Magnus, but it's kind of hard to make out the armor design because of the front gate in the way. But all I can see at this distance is the armor's navy blue with silver lining/accents and have skull designed pauldrons. With a closer look, I recognized the armor those two men are wearing.

"Hey guys…" I whispered to my bros.

"What? What is it?" Sideswipe responds.

"Those two guys standing back there, they're Paladin Knights." I looked towards the two men.

Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge then looked at the two men.

"Yeah, 'Paladin Knight Rejects' is more like it." Ratchet looking at them.

The Paladin Knights, they were an elite team in the Thunder Crash mercenaries, comprising of 20-30 personnel. The sole purpose of the Paladin Knights was to protect the General of the Thunder Crash Mercenaries.

"If those guys are here, then that has to be Magnus." I told my brothers.

"You think he knows that Thunder Crash was attacked after he left?" Scourge asks.

"You think he cares?" I asked back as we began walking towards the front gates.

As we got closer, we can see that sparks are beginning to fly between the teacher and Magnus.

"Hey, Sensei." I called towards the teacher as we approached the gates. He then turns his attention towards us.

"Relax; it's us who he wants to see."

The teacher pointed his kendo stick at us as he replied back.

"You know the policy on having visitors on campus, Anderson."

"I also know that a teacher's not supposed to interfere with a student's personal business." I responded back in a cold tone.

With nothing to say, the teacher reluctantly lowered his kendo stick, opened the front gates and left us be.

Magnus then walks past the front gates with his Paladin Knights right behind him

"General Magnus… welcome to what's left of Thunder Crash."

"I'll have answers for you gentlemen, but later." Magnus responds.

"I need to speak with your school's headmaster immediately."

"What does a General want with a school's headmaster?" Sideswipe asks.

"Something that involves his fellow mercenaries." Magnus replies.

"Not that we have much of a chain of command left." Ratchet cuts in.

Magnus didn't even bother with Ratchet's attitude and began walking towards the front entrance of the school building. But then-

"Oh, and Anderson…" Magnus turns back towards me.

He pulls out a small, thin plastic case out of his pocket and hands it to me. It turns out to be a disc.

"You'll want to see that." Magnus then walks towards the school building with his knights following.

*Clack.*

*Clack.*

"Ugh…" Ratchet slightly grunts.

Magnus's two knights walked between me and Ratchet and our shoulders "tapped" each other as they passed by.

"This better not be a fucking shopping list." I turned to Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge, holding up the disc.

"Let's go check it out."

We began walking back towards the school building and we passed by the teacher that was watching the front gates, and soon he closes the gates.

"Who does that asshole think he is?" Sideswipe growls.

"Magnus is going find out that a job like his won't count for shit with this school's headmaster." I replied back.

The headmaster in this school practically treats everyone the same; either if they're a student or not.

"So we're heading to the computer lab to see what's up with that disc, or what?" Scourge asks.

"Yeah, where the hell else can we find out what's on that disc in here?" Ratchet responds.

As we're making our way towards the computer lab, we began hearing a buzz that's going on as we pass by the other students. Not too much to my surprise after seeing what happened out in the front of the school.

"Come on, the sooner we get to the computer lab, the sooner we can find out what's so important with this goddamn disc." I urged my brothers to walk faster.

"Yeah, and the sooner we can get away from all of this 'buzzing' shit." Sideswipe agreeing.

* * *

><p>We finally made it to the computer lab. There were only about 8 guys in here other than us. We went to the computer that has the most "cover" so we can see what's on the disc that Magnus gave to us without the worry of other students looking in.<p>

Ratchet's getting the computer all set up and puts the disc in.

"What do we have here, Ratchet?" I asked.

"What we got here is an encrypted disc. Can't see shit on here." Ratchet replies.

"I'll see what I can get on here…"

"This fucking hardware's ancient." Ratchet began typing, doing whatever he can to get the disc decrypted.

A few minutes later, Ratchet backed away from the keyboard.

"There, I think I got it." We all turned our attention towards the computer monitor.

All we see is nothing but static and screen noise on the monitor, but once every now and then came an image of a man wearing a lab coat looking at the camera the disc was recorded on. It seems that it's like a video log or something.

Other than what's on the monitor that's got us all puzzled, it's also what we're hearing on from the computer's speakers.

*Btz-z-z…*

That is all we can hear from the speakers and then we hear a distorted voice.

"_Proj-"_ the man in the video log said.

All of us then paid closer attention, as if we're listening for the lottery numbers.

"_Sil_-"

*Btz-z-z…*

"Did anyone catch that?" Sideswipe asks.

"All I heard was 'pro' and 'sil'." Scourge replies.

"'Pro' and 'sil'? What the hell does that mean?" I asked.

We then tried to listen in on the video log while Ratchet makes another attempt to decrypt the disc.

"Oh, come on!" *Bang!* Ratchet smacks the side of the computer tower.

"Piece of shit..." He snarled and getting the attention of the other students in the computer lab. But he didn't care.

"Gu-ughh!" He throws his hands up out of frustration and backs away from the computer monitor.

"Government always gives girls all of the good shit." He shook his head to vent more of his frustration.

I told you I wasn't kidding about the 'female favoritism'. The government does spend funding for the guys side but only to cover the basic needs, like uniforms, chairs, desks, and textbooks. As for the girls side, they spend a lot more on them. Fucking Infinite Stratos…

*Ding, dong, dang, dong.*

"Great, of all the times for that damn bell to ring…" I growled.

"I'll get the disc decrypted, Eric. But it's going to take a while." Ratchet took the disc out of the computer tower.

"Yeah, you do that." I respond back.

We all left the computer lab to head back to our classrooms so we can resume the rest of the school day.

But before heading back to my classroom, I took a small detour into a nearby bathroom.

I turned on the faucet and splashed some water on my face to get rid of any excess oil I had. I then grabbed some paper towel to dry my face off.

As I take the paper towel off my face, I took a look at myself in the mirror in front of me. For my face itself, I don't really consider myself as a "Bishounen", not with this face.

Within that reflection I see in the mirror, are remnants my past, remnants of my days as a mercenary. A scar is on the left side of my face, coming down from the top of my left eyebrow, cutting down across my left eye ending right next to my nose and a small, crossed shaped one on my left cheek.

The right side isn't any better, because not only I have another scar that runs across below my right eye, at the top of my right cheek ending 1 inch short of my ear; I also have a burnt mark that covered the majority of my right cheek.

I smacked myself on both cheeks to pull myself back together. Then walked out of the bathroom and began heading back towards my classroom.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span> Sorry if it felt like that it was rushed and short. But hey, the prologue was longer because it was explaining at the start, to save the trouble of getting confused at the start and have to wait of a later explaination. Now, given there are some personal matters offline, Chapter 2 is not going to be up any time soon. And besides, whether I'll continue this or not, will depend on you guys.


	3. Phase 1-2

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to IS: Infinite Stratos. This Fanfic is made just for entertainment and not for commercial use in anyway.

* * *

><p>"O-o-o-ohh…" I groaned lying face first onto my bed for a short moment.<p>

"Goddamn it…" I growled after turning over, face up.

"Fucking Mid-Terms, man…" Sideswipe comments as he begins sitting up right next to the table in the middle.

The location we're in right now is our room in the school's dormitory. In case you guys can't tell, Sideswipe and I are roommates. Our room is not anything special; it's just your basic room with a bunk bed on one side, a desk on the opposite side, a table in the middle of the room and a small refrigerator in between the desk and bunk bed.

We were recovering from the day's Mid-Term exams. About two weeks had passed since Magnus dropped us a little "visit" and giving us the encrypted disc that Ratchet's attempting to crack. While he's doing that, Mid-Terms have been on our minds.

"So, what are you going to do when this shit's done?" Sideswipe asks.

"Me? I'll just fucking rest." I replied in a growling tone.

"And you Sideswipe?" I asked back.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll hit the arcade in the mall with Ratchet and Scourge." Sideswipe answers back.

"There's this new arcade game they've just unveiled today. We're thinking of checking it out."

"Well, tomorrow's Saturday and the last day of these damn Mid-Terms. Not to mentioned being half day… alright, I'll join you guys if that's what you're implying." I said as I got off my bed.

"Hell yeah, let's go check it out tomorrow afternoon then." Sideswipe smiles.

After hearing that, I went towards the door.

"Where you going, man?" Sideswipe asks.

"I'm going to check on that damn disc." I replied, walking out of our dorm.

I then entered the hallway of the dormitory and it was relatively empty. Given the time of day, it's not all that surprising. I looked outside through the windows to see that the surrounding neighborhood's shrouded in darkness, aside from the street lights illuminating the street below as I walked down the hallway to Ratchet and Scourge's dorm.

Ratchet said that'll take a while to decrypt the disc we got from Magnus little less than 2 weeks ago. Now that I think about it, what we first heard on the disc in the school's computer lab had popped up in my head again.

"_Pro…"_

"_Sil…"_

Those two words, since hearing those words, I could never get them out of my head. And the man that's in the video, he looked somewhat familiar. But I can't quite make out on who it is.

Oh fuck, this is starting to get annoying. First Magnus drops us a "visit" then he gives us an encrypted disc, and now these goddamn Mid-Terms. Feels like that my brain's going to blow a circuit. Ugh!

I finally reached Ratchet and Scourge's dorm.

*Knock. Knock.*

The doorknob rotates a few seconds after I knocked, then it swings inward towards the dorm and on the other side reveals a teenage German boy with blonde, faded and slightly bushy hair.

"Hey." Ratchet greets me.

"How's the disc coming along?" I asked.

"Well, I wasn't kidding about it taking awhile to decrypt." Ratchet walks back into his dorm while I follow closely behind.

"Whatever's on this disc, the person who made it sure didn't want anyone else to see it." Ratchet said as he shows me the video.

But this time it had less video noise and static than when we saw it in the school's computer lab. Even though he got some the disc decrypted, it was still hard to make out exactly what's on it.

"But why was it sent to us?" I asked.

"The only way to find out is to crack this shit. If I keep this up, then I could have the whole thing done by tomorrow." Ratchet said.

"Just get it done, and be sure not to overdo it. We still have those goddamn Mid-Terms tomorrow." I advised Ratchet.

"Oh sure, and I'll be back in here sleeping my ass off when Mid-Terms are done." Ratchet responds back in a somewhat "cocky" tone.

"So, where's Scourge?" I noticed that he's not in here.

"He's out on his night time jog." Ratchet replies.

"He's out on a night time jog this late?" I asked.

"Yeah, but he should be back in a few minutes." Ratchet answers.

"That is if he doesn't get busted by the night watch." I replied in a somewhat cold tone as I began heading back towards my dorm.

"Oh, we'll know…" Ratchet said in a sarcastic tone.

"Just get the disc decrypted…" I respond back, closing the door behind me.

I made it back to my dorm. And upon entering the room, it was in complete darkness, with that I take that Sideswipe's already asleep in his bed, resting for what's going on tomorrow. When seeing this, I thought it's time for me to hit the sack and catch some Zs as well. So I then washed up in the bathroom, then climbed into my bed and swept myself off into dreamland.

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:20 PM, May 26 2021. Ishiyama High, Class 2-D. Odaiba, Japan.<strong>_

*Ding, dong, dang, dong…*

As the bell rings, loud, collective sighs of relief are heard throughout the school building. It's not just my class, but all of the classes. Everybody's relieved that the Mid-Terms are now done.

I got up from my desk and walked out of the classroom soon after the bell rang, to meet up with my bros at the dorms.

As I was heading to the dorms, my mind was on that disc that Ratchet was decrypting last night. I don't know why, but I have a feeling that something big is going to happen once we know what's on that disc. That's what's been bothering me since Magnus gave it to us. Before I knew it, I was at the dorms. And standing at the front of it stood Sideswipe and Scourge, all changed in their street clothes comprised of cargo pants, sneakers and brand named T-Shirts. Both of them ready to go.

"Alright, where's Ratchet?" I asked while approaching them.

"He already went out ahead of us, and he also wanted me to tell you that he managed to crack the disc last night." Sideswipe answers.

"He practically stayed up all night to do it." Scourge added.

"Well okay, I'd like to check it out right now, but a lot of things happened so let's just blow some steam off by hitting the arcade." I walk passed them to change out of my school's uniform.

A few minutes later I walked out of the front door of the dorms, wearing similar clothing to Sideswipe and Scourge but I'm wearing cargo shorts instead.

I have a six pack of water bottles in hand, in case we get thirsty. And then we went our way to the arcade.

"So are we heading to the train station or what?" Scourge asked as we walked.

"Well, it is the fastest way to the mall." Sideswipe answers.

"Yeah, and one of the most crowded means of transportation. But what other choice do we have?" I jumped in with a firm tone.

"What's the shit about this new arcade game?" I asked.

"It's like an open space, motion sensing combat game." Scourge replies.

"You know that game consoles these days can pick up movements you make, right? But only if you have the console's controller." Sideswipe explains.

"I know." I respond in a calm tone.

"It's like that but on a new level. The area that you're in project's the games environment and you are not controlling the character in the game, you are the character in the game." Sideswipe continues explaining.

"It's virtual reality simulation from what I heard."

"Whoa Eddie, just hearing that is making me have some of these flashbacks." Scourge comments.

To be honest, I'm not all that surprised about that kind of gaming system. The reason for that is because I have a feeling that it's like the training simulators we used back in our days as mercenaries. For the rest of the trip towards the arcade, I remained quiet in thought while Sideswipe and Scourge continue to have their conversation. Not because of what the new arcade game is, but what's on the disc Ratchet finally decrypted last night.

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:40 PM. Fort Venus, Odaiba, Japan.<strong>_

"Finally, there it is." Sideswipe sighs.

"Yeah, that train ride was a little… unpleasant." Scourge said.

We're now at the arcade where we're supposed to meet up with Ratchet. But there's no sign of him around.

"Where's Ratchet? He said that he'll be waiting for us just outside of the arcade's entrance." Sideswipe asked as he scanned the front area of the arcade.

"Maybe he's already inside. Come on." I began walking towards the arcade.

"And by the way, here." I toss a bottle of water to Sideswipe and Scourge.

"Thanks man, Japan's sure has been turning up the heat." Sideswipe opens the water bottle and begins drinking from it.

"Well summer is almost here." Scourge drinking his water.

As we entered the arcade, the place was practically crowded. I assume that it's the new arcade game they have that's drawing in this much people. But our main concern right now is Ratchet.

"Alright, before we check what the big deal is with this new arcade game, let's look for Ratchet." I began looking.

We began our search around the front area, right next to a row of racing game cabinets and worked our way back towards the back of the arcade.

"Scourge, have you tried contacting Ratchet's cell phone?" I asked while scanning the air hockey table section.

"I did, but he's not responding." Scourge answers as he looked at the section of fighting and shooting game cabinets.

"Sideswipe, any luck?" I continued looking.

"No, I got nothing, Hot Shot." Sideswipe looking towards the restaurant area of the arcade.

"Alright, let's check the other side. There's no way we'll find Ratchet in the back area with that kind of crowd back there." I walk towards the other side of the arcade.

"Damn shame we don't have any recon drones to check out the back area for us." Scourge mentions as we walked.

"Yeah, it'll make this a whole lot easier." Sideswipe added on.

"Scourge, try calling Ratchet's cell phone again." I suggested to Scourge as we approach a row of dance games.

"Alright…" Scourge takes out his phone and calls Ratchet.

After a short moment of listening…

"Damn it, he's still not picking up." Scourge frustratingly putting his phone away. Then he walks ahead of us, taking point.

"This is not like Ratchet. He always picks up." Scourge added on.

"That is unless he got himself in a fix." Sideswipe jumped in.

"Yeah, but still…" Scourge replies.

Just as we're about to move to another part of the arcade to continue our search…

_"Hey, is that Clay?" _

We hear a voice that sounds like Ratchet as we pass by a janitor's closet.

_"Hey, Clay! Get me out of here, man! Can you hear me?_"

*Bang. Bang.*

"I hear you, Brian." Scourge responds as we walk up to the closet door.

_"Then get me the hell out of here!"_ Ratchet barks from the other side of the door.

Scourge then unlocks the closet door and opens it to release Ratchet.

"About time… what the hell took you guys so long?" Ratchet walks out of the closet annoyed.

"You're welcome." I toss him a bottle of water before asking.

"What the hell were you doing inside that janitor's closet?"

"I had a little "run-in" with a small group of IS Academy students while I was checking this place out. They were bitching on how I "accidentally" bumped into them when it's actually the other way around. Next thing I knew, they ganged up on me and stuffed me inside that closet. They were gonna do some punishment on me when they come back, man. Or whatever they planned on doing..." Ratchet explained.

"Shit, I'll show these IS bitches some punishment!" Scourge putting his fists up.

"Scourge, let it go. If we do anything to them, there will be dire consequences." Sideswipe advised to Scrouge.

Great, this better not be an indication of what the day's gonna be like.

"Come on, let's check out the new arcade game they have." I said so they can get their heads back on straight, the reason we're at the arcade today is so we can blow some steam off from the Mid Term exams.

Alright, we're now heading to the back parts of the arcade to see what's going on. Apparently, it's the new arcade game they have.

We fought our way through the crowd to get a better view of it. And just as Sideswipe said on our way here, it's a Virtual Reality simulation game. Just like what we used for our training and workout sessions when we were mercenaries.

From what we can see, it's a combat simulation game that can have up to 5 players in co-operative. As for player versus player, we're not really seeing it here.

"Damn, they're really tearing up the place." Sideswipe watches the 5 people that are in game.

"Yeah, but what exactly are they doing?" Scourge asked as he watches.

"Just by how things look, they're defending themselves from a horde of attacking enemies. Hold on." Ratchet explains as he pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket.

"There we go; the background story here is that a war is being waged against an evil dictator and if he wins, the whole world will be under his control." Ratchet summarizes from what's on the paper he's reading out loud.

"In this particular situation, the objective here is to defend a fort from a massive attack while the scientists inside are using it as a research lab and are working on activating a weapon that can turn the tide of the war." Ratchet finishes reading.

Just as Ratchet finishes up, there was this sudden uproar of sighs and groans coming from the crowd around us.

We took a look at what happened and we see the 4 players that are in the game lying on the floor, apparently 'dead' with the message on the wall surrounding the VR simulator saying 'Mission Failed'.

"That sucks." Sideswipe watches as the simulation resets for the next group of players.

"Damn straight it does. Looked like that they were near the end of the attack, too." I agreed with Sideswipe.

"Wait a second…" Ratchet takes a look at the 4 players getting up.

"What is it, Ratchet?" Scourge asks.

Ratchet took a closer look at the group of girls that were apparently the ones who were inside the simulator with a slight glare on his face.

"That's them! That's the group of IS Academy students that jumped me earlier." Ratchet points at the girls as they were walking out of the simulator.

"So that explains why they did so well. Take a look at that monitor." I pointed at a monitor displaying the scoreboard of the last simulator session.

Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourged looked at the monitor above the area of the simulator.

"Are you seeing this shit? 325,000+ points?" Sideswipe getting shocked.

"Yeah, unfortunately the second highest is 100,000+ points, and that's with 5 players." I pointed out.

"So just now the bar has been set even higher. For 4 player co-op I mean." Scourge stating.

"Yeah, what else do you expect from these IS shits?" Ratchet asked in a rude tone.

"You guys want to give it a shot?" I asked.

They all looked at each other before turning to me.

"""Let's do this."""

"Alright, let's get on over there." I walked towards the entrance of the combat simulator with Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge following closely behind.

* * *

><p>"Okay guys. You're all set on the VR gear." The arcade attendant spoke out.<p>

"As long as you're wearing that, the simulator will pick up your every movement. And if you want to back out, all you have to do is just take the headband off and the simulator will take it that you've quit." The arcade attendant concludes the quick rundown on how the simulator works.

"Alright, all you guys have to do now is to choose your weapons. Once all four of you do so, just walk out that door." The attendant points his arm at the door that leads out in the combat simulator before leaving the armory.

Once he left, all four of us went to the weapon lockers and chose our 2 weapons of choice, a rifle and a shotgun. For rifles, we can choose between a full automatic machine gun and a semi automatic rifle. For the shotguns, there's the standard shotgun and the sawed-off shotgun.

We are actually equipped with 4 weapons; a semi automatic pistol, frag grenades, a rifle and a shotgun. In case if we run out of ammo on our rifles and shotguns, we can still use our side arm, since it has infinite ammo in the simulator. And not to mention that having a side arm and frag grenades is the default setting for it.

"So, what are you guys using?" I asked them.

"I'm using the semi automatic and the standard shotgun". Sideswipe answers.

"Machine gun and standard shotgun here, Hot Shot." Scourge adjusting his VR vest.

"I chose the machine gun as well and…" Ratchet said while reaching out for his shotgun of choice.

"The Sawed-off." Ratchet pulls the indicated shotgun off the rack and placing it on the back of his VR vest.

"What about you, Hot Shot?" Sideswipe asked adjusting his VR headband.

"Same as Scourge, man. I chose the machine gun and standard shotgun." I replied as I adjust my side arm.

With all of us ready, we all walked out of the armory and into the combat simulator.

Upon entering the area of the simulator, we see that there was nothing in the open space and the surrounding area is the rest of the video arcade, with the huge crowd waiting for the simulation to start.

A few seconds later, the arcade that surrounded the simulator slowly materializes into what looks like the outer court yard of a fort. And all of us are on the ground level.

"Ratchet, anything you want to let us know about this goes?" I turned to Ratchet.

"This is basically a combat survival simulation. There's only one round, lasting for about 7 minutes. We have to hold out for those 7 minutes. But it gets tougher as it goes on. When the 7 minutes are up, we have to kill off any remaining enemy. This simulation ends when all of us gets 'killed' or we survive the attack." Ratchet stated.

"Everybody, keep your defenses up, alright?" I said in a firm tone.

"""Right!"""

"This squad defends this court yard until I say so, got it?"

"""Got it!"""

*BABOOM! *

The Fort's Alarm began to blare as the front gates of the fort had been breached, sending fiery debris everywhere.

"_Contact, hostile forces had breach the front gate! All personnel on stand-to position, hold the outer court yard. We got a whole battalion in there!"_

"Okay, this maybe a simulation, man. But you still got it?" Sideswipe asks as we take position behind some concrete barriers on the left side, near the back part of the outer court yard.

"I guess we'll find out huh?" I respond back about to take aim at the enemy forces entering the outer court yard.

When they got in range…

"Open fire!" I shouted.

Everybody began firing at the soldiers, some of them were taken out but some managed to take cover behind a wrecked Armored Personnel Carrier 10 meters in front of us. Others took cover behind a small shipment container that's near the front gates on the right side of the outer court yard.

"Somebody get a frag on that APC!" Sideswipe shouted.

Scourge pulls out a frag grenade and tosses it at the APC…

*DUHHNN!*

The grenade detonated sending bodies flying everywhere.

"Split up! We're an easy target when we're all bunched up like this!" I shouted.

"Sideswipe, you're with me. We'll watch the left side of the court yard. Ratchet, Scourge, you two watch the right side."

"Right." Sideswipe acknowledged.

Ratchet and Scourge soon began moving towards the right side of the court yard and soon took cover behind a metal barrier. Shortly after, they began engaging on the hostiles that took cover behind the shipment container.

Sideswipe and I moved to the wrecked APC to get in a better firing position. But as we're about to fire on the same hostiles to assist Ratchet and Scourge…

"Enemy reinforcements!" Sideswipe alerting us, and turning his machine gun and firing it at the front gate.

Just as Sideswipe began firing, they started firing at us.

"Watch it!" I yelled diving behind the APC as bullets volleyed on Sideswipe and me.

"Damn man, any closer and your ass would've been Swiss cheese." Sideswipe comments.

I got on the radio to get into contact with Ratchet and Scourge.

"Ratchet, Sideswipe and I are pinned down behind the APC. Can you and Scourge get a drop on them?"

"_Sure, if we didn't have our own shit to deal with over here!" _Ratchet answers sarcastically.

I got off the radio and turned my attention towards the soldiers that had us pinned down.

"Try to take some pop shots at them, man!" Sideswipe advices as he fires his shotgun.

I then took his advice and began shooting single shots with my shotgun every single time I popped out of cover to shoot. This is what we called "pop shots".

One by one, each soldier falls to the ground until every single one of them is dead.

"Alright, now let's get the drop on those fuckers by the container." I take aim towards the shipment container.

"Frag out!" Sideswipe throws a frag grenade at the container.

As the grenade landed near the container, one of the enemy soldiers picked it up and threw it back at me and Sideswipe.

"Shit!" Sideswipe yelled.

"Watch out!" I dove away from the APC, exposing myself.

*DUHHNN!*

As I got up, I was being fired uponed. I tried to dive back into cover behind the APC. I managed to dodge some of the shots but then I took a hit to left side of my chest, and I fell on the ground.

I struggled to get up and I managed to get behind the APC, I took a quick look at the area where I got hit, fortunately the round didn't penetrate the simulator's combat armor.

"Sideswipe!" I called out.

"I'm still here, Hot Shot." Sideswipe taking cover behind the concrete barrier.

I sighed a bit of relief. But then I regained my focused by taking a look around the APC. I noticed that some of the armor plating lying on the ground. Probably from the grenade that was thrown back at us.

Wait a second…

"Sideswipe, get a hold of the APC's armor plate." I said as I picked up an armor plate of my own.

I held the armor plate up as a makeshift shield in front of me and slowly moved out of cover towards flanking position on the shipment container. Upon seeing this, Sideswipe soon followed suit. We both have a shield in one hand, and our side arm in the other.

Just as we got close enough for our side arm to be in range…

"Smoke 'em!" I barked.

*PA! PA! PA! PA! *

*PA! PA! PA! PA! PA! PA!*

"Man that was pain in the ass…" Sideswipe dropping his armor plating.

"Yeah. You guys okay over there?" I began running towards Ratchet and Scourge with Sideswipe following.

"We're alive, fortunately." Ratchet answers in a slight annoying tone.

"Shit! Here come some more!" Scourge alerting us.

We all turned and aimed at the front gates and opened fire on any hostiles that came in.

* * *

><p>Alright, 1 minute is left and that's it.<p>

"Damn it! They just keep coming!" Sideswipe shouts out of anger as he continues firing his machine gun.

"Hold 'em off! Just hold 'em off!" I yelled firing at the soldiers trying to take cover behind the shipment container.

"They're everywhere!" Scourge shouts as he switches to his side arm, firing at an enemy in front of him.

We continued to hold our grounds as the firefight continues on.

As it came down to the last 30 seconds, the enemy forces began to make a retreat.

"We got 'em on the run!" I alerted everyone.

"Come on! Don't give them a second to breath!" I continued to fire my machine gun at the retreating soldiers.

Just as we're about to have this in the bag…

"Heads up! Mortars!" Sideswipe spotting two soldiers carrying a short range artillery launcher at the front gate.

"Don't let them fire a single round guys! Take out the mortar crew!" I turned my attention towards the mortar crew and began firing at them.

"Ratchet, on our right!" Scourge alerting Ratchet to see a group of 4 soldiers rushing on their position.

On reflex, Ratchet switched to his sawed-off, pulled the trigger as they got 1 meter in front of them…

*KABOOM!*

""Gaaahhh!""

""Ohhhh!""

"Shit, this is powerful!" Ratchet getting shocked at the sawed-off's capabilities.

"Yeah, quadruple kill, baby! One shot, four kills!" Scourge laughs.

Time is now up. All we have to do now is to take out the remaining enemy forces.

"_Uh guys, there's still a mortar crew we need to take out!"_ I shouted through the radio.

The moment they turned their attention back towards the mortar crew…

A loud screeching sound is heard coming from the artillery launcher that faded out a bit.

"It's too late! We're so de-ea-a-a-a-ad!" Ratchet yelled.

But then the screeching became louder and louder.

*BOOM! *

*POW! POW! POW! POW!*

The mortar rounds just missed us by 5 meters.

"Take out the fucking mortar crew goddamn it!" I shouted out while recovering from the disorientation from the mortar's impact.

"_Hot Shot, where's Sideswipe?"_ Ratchet asked me through the radio. I took a look around and noticed that he's not around.

"_He's over there guys!" _Scourge points out behind the mortar crew.

Sideswipe was slowly approaching the mortar crew from behind. And when he was in striking distance…

He jumped on the back of one of the crewmember using his left arm to hold him up against his chest, pulling out his side arm out with his right hand, using him as a body shield.

The other two guys were still trying to figure out what's going on, but it's already too late. He shot a round to the remaining two guys in the head. And as for his body shield…

"We're done here!" Sideswipe tags a frag grenade on the back of the guys he used as a shield, and kicked him away from him.

*DUHHNN!*

After the grenade went off, the simulator played a track that gave off the sense of victory, and accomplishment. And a holographic panel popped up in front of us with the message…

"Mission Accomplished."

"Oh yeah!" Ratchet yells.

"Whoo-!" Scourge jeers.

The simulator de-materializes the virtual environment to reveal the arcade that surrounds it. Upon seeing the arcade, we are greeted with a huge uproar from the crowd that watched us giving a big round of applause. As they were doing so, Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge waved at them a bit while I turned around heading towards the door that lead out of the combat simulator and into the armory. But I gave them a hand gesture of 'later' on the way.

* * *

><p>"Damn, even though that this is just a simulation, it sure had us going." Scourge putting the weapons he used away and taking his VR Gear off and into the designated area in the armory.<p>

"Maybe it's because we haven't been in something like this for the past 6-7 months." Ratchet responds in a sarcastic tone taking his VR Gear off.

"Yeah, but did you see our score for 4 player co-op?" Sideswipe asks.

"Hell yeah! We hella beat those IS bitches." Scourge enthusiastically responds.

It turns out that coming here after the Mid-Term exams was a smart move after all. Unfortunately, we have something that needs attending to.

"Alright, are we done here? Come on guys, we got a disc to check out." I reminded them about the disc Magnus gave to us.

Once we finished putting away all the VR gear and weapons, we walked out of the armory that lead back into the arcade. But as soon as we got outside…

"Nice work, you guys!"

"Yeah, I thought the IS Academy students are the only ones that are going to go that far."

"Can you give us some hints and tips on how to beat this?"

I may be overstating this; but in just a little less than 20 minutes, we somewhat practically became celebrities here…

* * *

><p><em><strong>5:47 PM, May 26 2021. Ishiyama High Dorms, Odiaba, Japan.<strong>_

"Finally, we're out of there." Sideswipe sighs in relief.

"Figures that we'd get a fanbase after that." Ratchet coldly said.

The sun was setting and it's close to getting dark out. We've been stuck at the arcade for most of the day. As my brothers continued their "bantering" of what happened today, we finally reached the school's dormitory.

"Alright, Ratchet. You said that you have the disc decrypted last night?" I asked Ratchet as we head upstairs to his and Scourges dorm.

"Yeah. And not only that, I managed to do the Mid-Term exams with practically no problems." Ratchet confidently replies.

"Well good for you, smartass." I replied in a firm tone.

We finally reached Ratchet and Scourge's dorm. Immediately after entering, Ratchet fired up his computer, inserted the disc Magnus gave to us into his computer.

"There we go. Finally got it." Ratchet plays the disc.

We all turned our attention towards the computer monitor.

The video showed the same man wearing a lab coat, looking at the camera the disc was recorded on. But even though the disc's been decrypted, there's still a bit of static and screen noise.

"_Eric, if you get this message, if you're still alive, I need your help…" _The man in the video said.

After hearing that, I felt a chill run down my spine.

"Oh shit… Hot Shot, is that who I think it is?" Sideswipe asking me.

"Yeah, I think so…" I replied looking at the man in video.

The man is wearing glasses and looks like that he's in his mid 40's and his for his physical build, I can't really judge from the video.

"…_Please, listen. It's complicated and I don't have much time…"_

"Who's that talking?" Ratchet looking kind of puzzled.

"Daniel Tezla…" Sideswipe answers while watching the video.

"He was Thunder Crash's head weapons and armor technician." I added.

"What? Wasn't he—" Ratchet getting even more puzzled.

"Leave it, Ratchet." Sideswipe cutting Ratchet off.

"…_I've been working on a project to develop a combat armor that can match up to Infinite Stratos. It's Project Silverback. I would tell you more about it in this message, but it's something that I have to tell you in person."_

"Project Silverback? And what does he mean by a 'match up' to the Infinite Stratos?" Sideswipe asks.

"No idea." I answered back before turning back my attention back to the computer monitor.

"If he's still alive, we have to find him." I whispered.

"Is there any way to tell when and where this was recorded?" I turned towards Ratchet.

"There's no date or location code." Ratchet trying to look more into the disc.

"_I've been trying to contact you over these past months, but I was being held prisoner before Thunder Crash was attacked, but I manage to escape. Should you receive this Eric, meet me at Tokyo Tower on Saturday, June 16th at 11:00PM. And if possible, have your squad with you."_

The video on the monitor then fades into black.

"There, that's it for the disc." Ratchet taking the disc out of his computer and putting it in its case.

After hearing the message, there was a moment of silence in the room as we're all thinking of what we just listened to.

"…"

"Uh… So now what?" Scourge breaking the silence.

"What else is there? We meet up with Tezla…" I answered back in a rough firm tone.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span> Dang this chapter turned out longer than expected. But then again, think of it as a make up for Ch. 1. I was barely able to manage to get Ch. 2 up here. I'd appreciate it if you guys can write reviews about this.


	4. Phase 1-3

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to IS: Infinite Stratos or any content/references that're used. This Fanfic is made just for entertainment and not for commercial use in anyway.

Author's Note: Alright, this maybe a minor thing but in this chapter, we get to see what weapons that Alpha Squad used when they were as mercenaries. It's the Saber Assault Rifle, or Retro Saber as it'll be called later on. It's like the Lancer from Gears of War, but it's colored black with blue lining. It's been the signature firearm for Thunder Crash.

* * *

><p>"<em>Eric, if you get this message, if you're still alive, I need your help…" <em>The man in the video said.

After hearing that, I felt a chill run down my spine. We're inside Ratchet and Scourge's dorm room, looking what's on the disc Magnus gave to us, after Ratchet decrypted it.

"Oh shit… Hot Shot, is that who I think it is?" Sideswipe asking me.

"Yeah, I think so…" I replied looking at the man in video.

The man is wearing glasses and looks like that he's in his mid 40's and his for his physical build, I can't really judge from the video.

"…_Please, listen. It's complicated and I don't have much time…"_

"Who's that talking?" Ratchet looking kind of puzzled.

"Daniel Tezla…" Sideswipe answers while watching the video.

"He was Thunder Crash's head weapons and armor technician." I added.

"What? Wasn't he—" Ratchet getting even more puzzled.

"Leave it, Ratchet." Sideswipe cutting Ratchet off.

"…_I've been working on a project to develop a combat armor that can match up to Infinite Stratos. It's Project Silverback. I would tell you more about it in this message, but it's something that I have to tell you in person."_

"Project Silverback? And what does he mean by a 'match up' to the Infinite Stratos?" Sideswipe asks.

"No idea." I answered back before turning back my attention back to the computer monitor.

"If he's still alive, we have to find him." I whispered.

"Is there any way to tell when and where this was recorded?" I turned towards Ratchet.

"There's no date or location code." Ratchet trying to look more into the disc.

"_I've been trying to contact you over these past months, but I was being held prisoner before Thunder Crash was attacked, but I manage to escape. Should you receive this Eric, meet me at Tokyo Tower on Saturday, June 16th at 11:00PM. And if possible, have your squad with you."_

The video on the monitor then fades into black.

"There, that's it for the disc." Ratchet taking the disc out of his computer and putting it in its case.

After hearing the message, there was a moment of silence in the room as we're all thinking of what we just listened to.

"…"

"Uh… So now what?" Scourge breaking the silence.

"What else is there? We meet up with Tezla…" I answered back in a rough firm tone.

"…"

"Hot Shot, he knows about the attack." Sideswipe turning towards me.

"And he looked a little older than…"

"Then when Thunder Crash's command declared him 'missing', I know." I finished Sideswipe's sentence.

"But what the hell is he talking about this 'Project Silverback'? And can it really develop something that can match up to the Infinite Stratos?" Ratchet asked.

"There's nothing new about the Infinite Stratos being the world's most powerful weapon. But what it did is breaking the balance of power on not just between countries on a political plain, but in society as well." Scourge reminding us.

"And people said that if men and women were to go to war with each other, we wouldn't even last for 3 days. And after those 3 days, those bitches would be riding us harder than a male rabbit would be on a female rabbit." Ratchet continuing from where Scourge stopped.

"You guys remember when men were actually stronger than women? But at the same time we had equal treatment? Man, I miss those days." Ratchet sulks.

"Well, there's only one way to find out for sure about this 'Project Silverback'." I picked up the disc from the desk and looked at it as if I was about to kill something.

"And that's to meet up with Tezla himself."

"Tokyo Tower, it's going to be a long way to get there from here in Odaiba, even by train." Sideswipe pointing out.

I put the disc back on the desk.

"Alright, guys. Why don't we all just call it a day for now? It turned out more 'eventful' than I thought." I began opening the door and soon left the dorm.

"Yeah, lets. See you guys later." Sideswipe heading to the door as well and soon walked out of the dorm with me.

"Later."

"Later, guys."

Ratchet and Scourge then took another look at Tezla's message.

"Man, Tezla sending a message like that to us…" Sideswipe catches up to me, while we're walking to our dorm.

Daniel Tezla…

He was Thunder Crash's head weapons and armor technician. He's the same guy that made my squad's weapons and combat armor. The weapons he made, they're not your typical custom made conventional firearms. No, believe it or not, he actually makes energy and plasma based firearms. The same kinds you usually see in sci-fi movies, TV shows and video games. As far as the recent ones and same goes with our combat armor.

Other than being the head weapons and armor technician, he was the one person I usually turn to whenever I have "certain" personal problems. Yeah, he helped me out with those personal problems I had, but in return I helped him with his work.

Not in his lab, but in the 'testing fields'. Whenever he had something new, he always comes to me to test it out in real combat situations before he can make more for the rest of Thunder Crash.

But a few months before Thunder Crash disbanded, he turned up missing. When I got news of this, my bros and I searched the whole base and got a hold to his contacts to see what happened to him. But to no avail, we couldn't find a single trace of his whereabouts.

Sideswipe and I got to our dorm and without wasting anytime; we washed ourselves up, changed into our 'house clothes', that's comprised of sports jersey shorts and a T-shirt, and we just rest for the remainder of the night.

* * *

><p>Inside a huge, fairly lit area, there was rubble and debris all over the place. To clarify, this is inside of Thunder Crash's base.<p>

This is one of the training areas. Gunfire, grunting and yelling is what you normally hear when you're in one of these areas on a daily basis.

But not on this particular night…

"Hot Shot, get our brothers and everyone else out. My squad and I will buy you guys' some time." I'm being told to by a young Spanish American man, looking in his early 20s. He's more physically built than Sideswipe, not to mention he's like a more mature looking version of him.

This is Derrick "Shockwave" Garcia, the guy who I look up to as my older brother and Sideswipe's blood related brother.

"We're not leaving without you, bro!" I picked up a Saber assault rifle from one of our fallen guys.

"Hot Shot, this is not coming from another squad captain. This is coming from your older brother!" Shockwave turned his attention towards his squad, getting ready for the fight that's at hand.

"We've swore a brotherhood and we'll always watch each other's backs!" I argued back.

"You said it yourself, or was it all just talk? And didn't they say that 'action always speaks louder than words'?" Sideswipe cutting in.

"…"

Shockwave was standing there as if he's in deep thought, while his squad's waiting for his orders.

*Baboom!*

One of the walls has been blast through, sending debris throughout the training room.

Everybody was taking cover from the flying debris.

"Contact!" Sideswipe aiming his Saber at the hole.

As the dust was beginning to settle, JSDF soldiers came storming in.

"Alright then, my squad will grab their attention. Hot Shot, Sideswipe, you two flank right. Ratchet, Scourge, head up those stairs to that walkway and flank left." Shockwave ordered.

""""You got it!""""

We began moving into position in the training room while Shockwave and his squad grab the JSDF's attention.

"Two—"

"Three—"

"Fire!" Shockwave began firing his Saber.

*Dadadadadadadadadadada!*

The JSDF soldiers took cover behind some of the debris and began firing back at Shockwave's squad.

Shockwave's squad mates ducked just in time before the volley of bullets flew at them.

"Damn it! There are more of them!" One of his squad mates shouted.

"Anybody got Claymore frags?" Shockwave looked at his squad, reloading his Saber.

"Yeah, I have one." One of his other squad mates tosses it to Shockwave.

"But it's the last one."

"Alright, this is the one that needs to count the most."

"Alpha, are you in position yet?" Shockwave turns on his radio comm.

"_Sideswipe and I are."_ I took a quick look at the JSDF soldiers firing down at Shockwave and his squad.

"What about Ratchet and Scourge?" Shockwave looks at the elevated walkway.

"_Just give us the word!"_ Scourge about to aim his Saber down at the JSDF.

Shockwave took a quick look at the JSDF soldiers…

"_Alright, smoke 'em!"_

*Dadadadadadadadadadada!*

We all began firing at the JSDF; firing from their front and both sides these guys are done.

"Yeah, which one of you bitches is next?" Scourge shoots a JSDF soldier in the head.

"Here comes some more!" Ratchet shooting his Saber at the hole.

We all began shooting at the hole at any hostiles that came rushing it. Within that group of storming JSDF are three soldiers that are larger than the others.

"Grenadiers, take 'em out!" Sideswipe alerting us.

Grenadiers are armored soldiers, and their preferred weapon is a multi-purpose grenade launcher, the Howa 84RR.

"Concentrate you fire on the grenadiers!" Shockwave fires at the one of the grenadiers.

Then suddenly, one of the grenadiers took aim at Shockwave's squad…

*Baboom!*

Smoke and dust were sent everywhere from where Shockwave and his squad were.

"Bro! Are you okay?" I shouted through the radio.

"…"

"Aw shit…."

"…"

"_We're still here, Hot Shot." _Shockwave responds back.

I made a huge sigh of relief.

"_Damn it! If only we had a fucking Flak Cannon here…" _I thought.

"Throwing frag!" Ratchet throws a Claymore grenade at the group of JSDF soldiers, landing right below of one of the grenadiers.

*Beep beep beep*

*DUHHNN!*

""Gya-aaaaahh!""

"""Aaaahhhh!"""

Rubble, dirt and body parts are sent flying all over the place. One of the grenadiers was lying on the ground, completely motionless.

"That's one down!" Sideswipe taking aim at the other grenadiers.

There are 5 JSDF soldiers left, including the remaining 2 grenadiers.

"You want some?" I shot and killed one of the soldiers, bringing their number down to 4.

"Alright, time for the heavy artillery!" Shockwave switches his Saber to a Tri-barrel Rocket Launcher.

He pulls and holds the trigger for each barrel to be loaded with a rocket. And when the third rocket is loaded…

"Here's something for you!" Shockwave fires the 3 rockets in a spiral twist.

*Bang!*

*Bang! Bang!*

One of the rockets hit one of the JSDF soldier directly, blowing him to pieces. While the other two hits one of the 2 grenadiers, blowing his armor up in pieces and killing him from the shock of the impact.

"That's two!" Sideswipe points out.

He then spots the last grenadier aiming his Howa 84RR up towards his right, away from where Shockwave and his squad are.

"Shit! Ratchet, Scourge, get out of there!" He bellowed through the radio.

Just as Ratchet and Scourge saw the grenadier aiming at them…

*Baboom!*

The grenade just missed Ratchet and Scourge, hitting below the walkway. But it blew apart the support struts that were holding the section of walkway where Ratchet and Scourge are standing, making the walkway collapse under their weight.

Ratchet managed to grab hold of a piece of the railing.

"Aw, shit…"

Hearing this, Ratchet turned his head towards Scourge, seeing him sliding down the walkway.

"Scourge!" Ratchet attempts to reach his hand to Scourge but to no avail…

Scourge fell 5 meters down into the dust that was kicked up by the falling pieces of the walkway.

"Oh, hell no…" I muttered.

As the dust settled, Scourge was lying on the pile of debris, completely motionless.

I turned my attention towards the 2 remaining JSFD soldiers. Out of anger, I broke out of cover and began rushing towards them, both of my side arms blazing.

"Motherfucke-r-r-r-r-r-r-rs!" I shot one soldier in the head 5 times over as I charged, splattering his head everywhere.

I then went towards the last grenadier and when I got close enough, I jumped on his back, thrashing my weight all over causing him to lose his balance.

He then got a hold of me on my right arm, below my shoulder, and threw me on the ground, landing in front of him.

I recovered by swinging my right leg in a sweeping fashion, used the momentum to get myself into a somewhat of a headstand position, propelled myself up and kicked the grenadier on the chest armor, making him turn his back towards me.

As I got up, I jumped on the grenadier's back, this time he fell on the ground face first, deployed my forearm mounted combat blade on my right arm, and thrust it through the back of the grenadier's neck, killing him instantly.

With the look of a killer on my face, I took a quick look around me to see whose left and retracted my combat blade.

"…"

"_That was violent, reckless, and necessary. Good job, little bro."_ Shockwave commented.

"Hot Shot, get out of there! We got more hostiles on the way!" Ratchet aiming his Saber towards behind me.

I turned towards the hole…

"Oh shit!" I bolted back towards where Sideswipe is.

More JSDF soldiers came storming in.

"Keep hitting them! Keep hitting them!" Shockwave fires his Saber at the hole.

"Damn it! There's too many of them!" Sideswipe looks on as he reloads his Saber.

"Come on! Drop them guys!" I shouted firing my Saber at them.

"Yeah, we're dropping them alright. But they've invited all their buddies!" Ratchet switches to his shotgun.

As we're firing at the JSDF…

*Bang!*

A sudden burst of light came from the center of the room, and then came this ringing noise in my head. All I can see is nothing but white. There's only one thing that can cause this, someone must've threw a Flash bang.

As I began to regain my vision, I can faintly hear a noise as if someone's jeering, the voice was deep. And when I turned towards the middle of the training room, I can see that the JSDF were being taken down by a dark figure, I can't tell who or what it is because of the effects from the Flash Bang.

"Whoo-hoo!"

*Dadadadaddadadadada!*

"Yeah, that's right! I'm back bitches!"

*Dadadadadadada!*

"Ha ha! Take that, you all!"

"Gyaa-aaaggghh!"

*Thud thud.*

"Oh, yeah baby! Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! Yeah!"

*Dadadadadadada!*

"Who want some? Who want some? Hahahaha! Whoo!"

*Dadadadada!*

"Hell yeah!"

I then soon recognized that jeering as I recovered from the Flash Bang's effects.

"Hot Shot, is that—?" Sideswipe turns towards me.

"Got to be." I cut Sideswipe short as I looked at the JSDF soldiers.

The dark figure that was taking down the JSDF is actually Scourge. He was a one man wrecking crew, taking down all those soldiers by himself. Soon there are 3 soldiers remaining.

Scourge charged towards one of the soldiers and thrusts his hand held SMG into his midsection, firing it and threw the soldier up and over him as he went.

The other soldier then began charging at Scourge. Just as he got close enough, Scourge spun around, pulled out his Saber and swung it at the charging soldier, with the teeth of the chainsaw bayonet ripping his face up, killing him instantly.

The chainsaw wasn't even on by the way.

As for the last soldier, he swung his right fist at Scourge but he grabs his fist, dropped his Saber, and swung his right fist towards the soldier's mid section.

"Gu-ack!" The soldier gawked.

"Here, send this message to your buddies for me!" Scourge pulls the pin of one of the grenades that's on the soldier's weapon web and kicks him away.

The soldier tries to get the grenade off, but…

*Boom!*

"…"

Scourge looks around the training room.

"Ha! Nobody can keep me down! Nobody!" Scourge jeered.

"Scourge!" Sideswipe called.

"Sounds like shit got thick for you guys." Scourge looking at the dead bodies.

"It did. Nice work on the 'clean up' man." Shockwave walks up to Scourge.

"Alright, form up." Shockwave calls from the middle of the training room.

We all began heading towards the center of the training room, checking to see if we're all okay.

"Nice job guys, by now the others must've escaped." Shockwave complements us.

"Now it's our turn. If there's anything you guys need that's still here, get it and head straight for the escape—"

*BOOM!*

We all turned to where the explosion came from. One of the walls has been blasted through, just like the first one.

"Gu-ahh!" A piece of debris flew right at me, hitting me in the midsection of my combat armor, knocking me on my ass.

"Hot Shot, you okay?"

"Hot Shot! Hot Shot!"

* * *

><p><em>"Hot Shot! Hot Shot!"<em>

"Daaahhh! Ha- ha- ha-" I snapped my eyes opened.

I was heavily panting as I sat up on my bed, covered in sweat. Sitting at my bed side was Sideswipe with a concerned look on his face.

"Sideswipe…" I panted, turning towards him.

"You okay, man?" He asked.

I shook my head side to side.

"Did you have that dream again, bro?" Sideswipe offering me a glass of water.

"Yeah, unfortunately." I replied, taking the glass from Sideswipe's hand and gulping the water down.

"I don't know why, but something's really bothering me about that dream." I lowered the glass down in my hand and looked at it.

"That's all in the past, man. There's really not much you can do about it." Sideswipe puts his hand on my right shoulder.

"I don't know, man. I thought I could move on just thinking of that." I looked back at Sideswipe.

Ever since the night of Thunder Crash's disbandment, I've been having these dreams about it once every now and then. I don't know why, but I have a feeling on whatever happened on that night's preventing me from moving on.

Although the last time I had that dream, in regards of how often, it was back in April when I started attending High School. Then when we entered May, I stopped having those dreams. I don't know if it's good or not. But yeah…

It's been a little over a week since we've listened to Tezla's message. And during that time, I've been having dreams about that night practically once every other night.

"Dude, I think you need some help." Sideswipe gets up and puts his school uniform on.

"…" I got off of my bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

"You've been dreaming of that night a lot more often now than back in April." Sideswipe continues.

"It's been like that since we've listened to Tezla's message. And that was a little over a week ago."

I stopped in front of the bathroom door, thinking about Tezla's message.

"Look, we need to get ready to meet up with Tezla this Saturday night." I looked back towards Sideswipe.

"We need to know for sure about 'Pro—"

"You're always like this, Eric!" Sideswipe cutting me off in a scolding tone.

"You're always bottling things up! I maybe overreacting, but that's going to get you killed one of these days!"

"Damn it, this 'Project Silverback' can possibly be our only shot at getting back at the IS and possibly for me to move on as well." I talked back.

Sideswipe scoffs and shakes his head in frustration as he picks up his school bag.

"I'm sorry, Eric. But you should still seek some help." Sideswipe walks past me and opening the door leading into the hallway.

"I'm going on ahead, see you at the campus." Sideswipe closes the door behind him.

I then opened the bathroom door and walked in to turn on the shower and stepped into the stall with the water raining down on me.

Ah fuck… What the hell's been going on? A lot's been going on in so little time…

I think Sideswipe's right about this. If push comes to shove, then I am going to need some help.

But hey, as time goes on, you'll never know what's going to happen.

I soon came to my senses and spent the next 10 minutes getting ready for the day ahead.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span> Phew... I'd never thought that I'd get this one done. Alright, for sure things are getting crazy for me offline now. So there's a very strong possibility that I won't be able to start on Ch. 4. I'm sorry guys, but I have my own things to deal with. And while I'm handling my personal matters offline, I'd really appreciate it if you write reviews and feedbacks, guys. Those are practically the main things that's making me continue with this Fic.


	5. Phase 1-4

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to IS: Infinite Stratos or any content/references that're used. This Fanfic is made just for entertainment and not for commercial use in anyway.

Author's Note: Alright, finally I was able to get this chapter done. Just to give you guys a heads up; you may find this chapter to be complex/confusing in someways. But things will be cleared up in the later chapters. Oh, and you may find a refereance to an anime that made it's debut during the Winter 2011 season, along with Infinite Stratos's anime adaptation. It actually first aired 3 days after Infinite Stratos.

* * *

><p><em><strong>7 Months Ago. Thunder Crash base, Training Room 4.<strong>_

In this room, there's rubble, debris and dead bodies everywhere. This is the aftermath of a prolonged firefight. We're all in the center of the room, regrouping and waiting for further instructions from Shockwave.

"Nice job guys, by now the others must've escaped. Now it's our turn. If there's anything you guys need that's still here, get it and head straight for the escape—"

*BOOM!*

Another wall in the training room has been blasted through, just like the first one.

"Gu-ahh!"

A piece of debris flew right at me, hitting me in the midsection of my combat armor, knocking me on my ass.

"Hot Shot, you okay? Hot Shot! Hot Shot!"

Sideswipe helps me up…

"Ugh… It's okay. I'm alright."

I got up and turned my attention towards where the explosion came from. And unfortunately, all of us figured what caused it.

"IS!" Scourge roared.

"Holy shit, she's back!" Ratchet aims his Saber at the IS.

"Keep that bitch away from the escape tunnels!" Shockwave barked.

The IS took hold of her sword and began her attack.

"Look out!" I dove out of the way. "Disperse! Disperse!"

Everybody was scattering all over the training room, avoiding the IS's attacks.

Ratchet began firing his Saber at the IS.

"Didn't that EMP field shut her down, Shockwave?"

"It can shut down electrical systems, but the one that was used can only slow down an IS. Watch out!"

The IS charged toward Ratchet and Shockwave, clenching her sword as she's about thrust it forward. When they dove out of the way…

*Bang!*

Suddenly the IS was knocked out of her path, causing her to miss Ratchet and Shockwave.

"Get out there, guys!" Scourge reloads a Rocket Launcher.

Ratchet and Shockwave got up and began running towards the next training area.

The IS soon got back up and caught up to them, about to swing her sword downward at them.

"Awww, shit…." Ratchet looks back.

"You two are finished! Hyaa-a-a-a-a-aahhh!"

"Shockwave! Ratchet!"

"Huh?— Gu-agh!"

"Doh-agh!"

*Thud thud.*

*Whoosh…*

*Shephew!*

Shockwave and Ratchet got up to see what hit them. As they regained their vision, Shockwave knew what happened.

"No!"

He looked on in disbelief as one of his squad mates fell to the ground, sliced clean through from his left shoulder to his right hip.

"Hyaa-a-a-a-a-aghh!"

Sideswipe jumped on the back of the IS and began punching her in the side of her head.

*PAM PAM!* *PAM PAM!*

"Get off of me!" The IS grabbed hold of Sideswipe, plucked him off of her and threw him 7 meters onto a pile of debris.

Sideswipe's combat armor was all battered.

"Eeh hack hack!"

He was coughing out blood as he struggled to get back up. I rushed to him to get him back up.

"Come on, man. Fight through the pain!"

"_Sideswipe, you okay?" _Shockwave checks through the radio.

"I'm okay, just a little banged up, though. Gr-agh!" Sideswipe clenches his chest.

"_Hot Shot, Sideswipe, get your asses out of there; we're heading straight for the escape tunnels."_

"We would, but where's Scourge?" I scanned the training room.

"_He's here with me and Ratchet in the next training room. He snuck by the IS while Sideswipe was on her back."_

I cautiously looked around the training room to see the IS hovering around on the other side, looking for us.

"Come on, Sideswipe."

"Man, she is one nasty-ass IS…"

We're about to make our way towards Shockwave and the others, but the IS had other plans for us.

"Come on, let's dance…" readying her sword.

"Move, move!" We began bolting towards the other training room, with the IS charging at us as we go.

*PA! PA! PA!*

Sideswipe fires his sidearm to slow the IS down, but the shots just ricocheted off of her.

"So weak…" The IS was about swing her sword down at Sideswipe.

"Ha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ah!"

I turned around. "Shi-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-it!" I was about to push Sideswipe out of the way…

*BOOM!* *Dund Dund…*

The IS was suddenly knocked backed by a sudden explosion that went off in between us, also knocking both me and Sideswipe down at the same time.

"Boom, baby!"

""Ugh…"" As we got up, Ratchet's holding up a Rocket Launcher, standing just outside of the other training room.

"That was a little too close." Sideswipe remarks as we regrouped with everyone else.

"Sideswipe, how you holding up? That was one nasty throw you took." Shockwave checks in on Sideswipe.

"I think a few of my ribs are busted… Eh-hack!"

"Come on, easy does it now."

Shockwave picks up Sideswipe.

"Alright, if the JSDF wanted this base back so badly, they didn't have to dispatch an IS and slaughter our guys to say so." Shockwave looks out for the IS.

"Pop some smokes, and let's head for the escape tunnels." Shockwave leading us out of the training facilities and to the back parts of the base.

*Psh-h-h-h-h-h…*

*Psh-h-h-h-h-h…*

*Psh-h-h-h-h-h…*

As smoke fills to up the training areas, we began making our way out of our former base. Then I began hearing a faint voice.

"_Hot Shot, let's go. Hot Shot, Hot Shot…" _

* * *

><p>"<em>Hot Shot. Hot Shot."<em>

I woke up to some light jerks from a person sitting next to me, it was Sideswipe. I'm a bit pale and sweating, but I brushed it off and refocused on the matter at hand. I'm going to have to deal with this at another time.

June 16...

Two weeks had passed since we've listened to Tezla's message, and we're inside a train car that's slowly coming to a stop.

"We're here, Hot Shot." Sideswipe informs me as Ratchet and Scourge rise from their seats.

As the train came to a full stop, the doors opened and we walked outside into a city with massive skyscrapers, lighting up the night sky. This is mainland Minato, Tokyo, where the Tokyo Tower stands, and the place where we're heading to meet up with Daniel Tezla.

"Mmm-hmm, so this is mainland Minato, Tokyo, huh?" Scourge asks while he takes in the sights around him.

"Yeah, and apparently, the female locals here are not all that friendly."

Ratchet's observing a woman beating up a man while everyone else walks by as if nothing's happening.

"Ah hell, it's been like that ever since the IS was introduced." I replied.

Ratchet continues observing the beating. "The IS does give women 'higher priority', but beating a guy up out in public like this is really pushing it."

"Should we try to help him or something?" Sideswipe asks.

"I don't think so. If we interfere, then the cops will get involved or worse." I reluctantly replied as I spot the Tokyo Tower that's well lit and began walking towards it. "And besides, we got more important matters to deal with right now."

Ratchet then takes one last look at the beat down that's still going on. "Fucking Infinite Stratos…" He uttered as he began following me, with Scourge and Sideswipe closely behind.

"Alright, Sideswipe. Since you've been on the mainland a lot more than any of us, you're navigating." I note as we walked towards the Tokyo Tower. "Where do we go?"

"The fastest way to get to Tokyo Tower from where we are is through Shibakoen."

"Whoopee, we get to walkthrough the love park…" Ratchet remarks.

"Yeah, as if there's any love with the IS in the picture." Scourge looks around as we walked, recalling the beat down.

"Oh, we'll know for sure when we get there."

I looked at my cell phone to check the time, and it's currently 10:16 pm. "Sideswipe, how much time will it take to get to Tokyo Tower?"

"It should take about fifteen to twenty minutes if we take the Toei Oedo Subway Line, follow me." Sideswipe takes point. "Let's head to Daimon Station, we'll use the subway and get off at Akabanebashi Station, from there it's a walk through Shibakoen to Tokyo Tower."

With Sideswipe leading, we made a slight detour towards Daimon Station to take the subway to Tokyo Tower.

* * *

><p>"Heh, it's really surprising on seeing how many teenage couples there are here." Scourge takes note.<p>

"Hey, Ratchet, look- They seem to be going real well for each other." He chuckles a bit.

"Yeah, and within the next day, those girls will toss their 'boyfriends' out like last week's trash."

We're currently making our way through Shibakoen. From what I heard, this is an ideal spot for dates. Mainly because of the walkways that gives a great view of Tokyo Tower that's close by, especially at night time.

"Anybody got a bouquet of roses? And some boxes of gourmet chocolate?" Sideswipe jokingly asks as he spots a high school girl who's waiting for someone.

Ratchet switches his view from one couple to the next. "I can never see myself in a relationship, especially with the current hierarchy. Ugh!"

"Yeah, imagine scrounging things up all the time if you have a girl, just to keep her satisfied." Sideswipe continues to switch his view from one couple, to the next.

"Hey, I make intelligent use of free resources." Ratchet responds proudly. "That's how come we're still alive after being in Thunder Crash!"

As much as I want to add on to this conversation, I had to cut in to remind them why we're heading to Tokyo Tower. "Come on, we got an appointment with a weapons and armor technician."

"..."

For the rest of the way, we continued walking through Shibakoen in silence, ignoring the couples as we pass by.

* * *

><p><em><strong>10:50 PM, June 16 2021. Tokyo Tower, Main Observatory.<strong>_

We finally made it. At this time, the business hours are close to being finished for the day, and there were not that many people up here. Just a small tourist family here and a group of guys, probably a few years older than us, admiring the well lit city that's below us.

"Alright, knowing Tezla, the only way to contact him is by radio comm." I began putting on the earpiece of my radio comm.

We then moved to an empty spot in the Main Observatory so we can avoid their attention. "Sheesh, that's a bit troublesome." I muttered as we check to make sure the side of the observatory we're on is all clear.

"Alright, looks like its all clear. Sideswipe…" I tapped my earpiece.

"Right…" Sideswipe places his index and middle fingers on his earpiece. "Tezla, come in. Tezla, come in!" He paces, waiting for a response as Ratchet and Scourge gets a view of night time Tokyo.

"Nothing, Hot Shot..." He sighed.

"At least keep the channel open, just in case."

_"Eddie! Eddie, is that you?" _

Sideswipe's eyes widened up.

"_This is Daniel Tezla! Can you hear me?"_

"Tezla! Yes, we hear you." Sideswipe responds.

_"Ah, thank the Lord. Magnus found you. Can you see the surveillance camera?"_

Sideswipe spots the closest surveillance camera and walks up to it.

"Yes, can you see us, Tezla?"

_"Eddie! Oh, you've changed!" _Tezla exclaimed._ "Where's Eric? Did Eric make it?"_

Sideswipe turned towards me as I walked towards the surveillance camera and looked at it, both of us feeling a bit 'anxious'.

"Tezla, I'm here. We've come to have that talk you wanted."

"..."

It's been almost a year since I've last talked to Tezla. And talking, let alone meeting, like this all of a sudden is making us both anxious.

_"It's... good to see you again, Eric. Is Derrick with you? Wait, how did you get those scars?"_

"Later, Tezla. Where are you?"

_"I'm in the maintenance room on the Special Observatory. I need to tell you guys about 'Project Silverback' and how it can match up to the Infinite Stratos. But I don't think I have much time, Eric."_

"We'll get up there ASAP, Tezla. Hang tight."

_"No, I think I'm being tracked here. Mainly because of my knowledge of the Silverback Spark. It's one part of the whole key to 'Project Silverback'. It's the life force part of it."_

Did he say 'life force'?

"You lost me at 'life force'."

_"It's a very vital part of the project, Eric. It's a mechanism capable of self evolving, much similar to that of the IS Core."_

"So it's like another version of the IS Core, basically."

_"Yes, that's it exactly! When I was being held prisoner, my captors wanted me to reverse-engineer the Silverback Spark so it can infuse with an IS Core, allowing an IS to evolve faster, even without a pilot. But I couldn't risk that because there's a strong possibility that the IS itself will evolve to the point where it'll be a major threat to Humanity."_

After hearing that, I finally began to understand how important this talk is going to be.

"Alright, Tezla, as much as I want to have this talk like this, we need to get to the Special Observatory so we can talk face to face like you wanted. Where do we go?"

_"There should be an elevator that'll take you straight up here."_

"Yeah, we've got a problem with that. The public elevators are down. Anyway we can bypass it?"

_"There should be a maintenance elevator alongside them; I can operate it from here."_

Ratchet and Scourge walked and made a hand gesture towards the door that appears to be for the maintenance elevator.

"Tezla, try opening it."

*Thud thud. Ee-e-e-e-e-e-e.*

"We're in." All of us walked in the elevator and began headed up to the Special Observatory.

* * *

><p>As the elevator rises to the Special Observatory, anxiety still has a firm grip around me. To ease the grip, I reached into the right pocket of my cargo pants, feeling some metallic pieces that are in there. But yet, at the same time, memories from that night 7 months ago fill me up…<p>

The elevator door slides open, revealing a circular room that's the Special Observatory. We walk out of the elevator into the observatory and Sideswipe whistles in awe at how high up we are above Tokyo.

I took a quick look around the observatory while Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge get a view of Tokyo from 250 Meters (825 Ft.) high.

"Alright, looks like we're the only ones up here." I then turned on my radio comm. "Tezla, we're here in the Special Observatory."

"_Right, I can see you on the surveillance camera." _Tezla responds as I began looking for the closest camera. _"Is it just you and Eddie who are here?"_

"We've got Brian (Ratchet) and Clay (Scourge) here, too. Practically the whole squad's here, Tezla." I spotted the closest camera.

"_Ah, Brian, Magnus mentioned him." _

"Tezla, are you still in the maintenance room?"

"_Yes, Eric. I would come out and talk to you guys, but I think its best if we have it in the maintenance room, away from all the cameras."_ Tezla strongly advised.

I understand that Tezla's the type who doesn't want to let things get out, but damn. This 'Project Silverback' must be something for him to really be protective about.

Looking around the observatory again, I spotted a door that has a "Maintenance" plaque on it. Seeing this, I assumed that this is the room Tezla's in.

"Over here, guys." I called Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge. _"_Tezla, we're right outside of the room."

"_Just hold on a bit…"_

*Clack. Clack.*

The door swings open and we walk right into a fairly small room with electrical circuits on one side, and a small rack of surveillance monitors on the other. Scourge closes the door after we all got it. Sitting in front of the monitors and working on a console below is a dark brown short-haired man who looked mostly Canadian in his work uniform. Probably around in his mid 40's and his physical build, well… he looked pretty muscular for a guy in his mid 40's.

"Tezla, is that you?" I anxiously asked as he turned towards us.

"Eric… Eddie." Tezla spoke. "It's good to see you again. I thought I never would. Where's Derrick?"

"Oh…" I reach into my right pocket and pulled out a ball chain with metal pieces that are actually iTags (Thunder Crash's Dog tags) hanging from it.

"He's gone, Tezla. Derrick's gone…" I held the iTags in front for everyone to see. "He sacrificed himself to save us."

"…" The room filled with silence as I informed Tezla of my Big Bro's death on that night 7 months ago.

"Eric…" Tezla breaks the silence. "I'm… so sorry about Derrick. I wish I can bring him back."

"It's hard to know where to begin, Tezla." I put the iTags back in my pocket.

"Yes, yes it is. I always wondered what I'd say to you if I saw you again, but… we always run out of time."

"With our different duties back then, yeah." I remarked our days in Thunder Crash. "Now, what exactly is the shit about this 'Project Silverback' of yours, Tezla?"

Tezla suddenly had a serious look on his face. "Well… you do know that the Infinite Stratos is currently the world's super weapon."

"Yeah, and it's also what put women on the top of the hierarchy over men in society." Ratchet responds while Tezla continues.

"That too and if it wasn't for the Alaska Treaty, the military would've been obsolete." Tezla said in a thankful tone.

Yeah, but it didn't save Thunder Crash from being disbanded.

"But still…" Tezla continued on. "Even with the Alaska Treaty, there's no doubt that the Infinite Stratos can take out a country's military power with ease, let alone, multiple military powers. I don't know if you guys know this, but that's what happened ten years ago…"

"…" We all began thinking back of what happened around that time.

"The White Knight incident…" I uttered.

"Yes." Tezla responds. "The White Knight incident; a month after the first Infinite Stratos space exploration suit was scoffed at, a 'Mysterious' hacker hacked military missile bases and ships from all over the globe; launching 2,341 ballistic and cruise missiles towards Japan. The world's first and only IS was dispatched and it neutralized 1,221 of the missiles with its sword alone. While the others were shot down with energy based weapons—something no country on the planet had the tech of producing."

Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge listened with tensed looks on their faces as Tezla continued.

"The IS was later code named 'White Knight', hence the name of the incident. Its faceless pilot had no allegiance to any country and was targeted by many of the world's super powers, seeking to either destroy or capture it. But it was all for naught; the IS easily fended off its attackers by destroying 207 next gen fighter aircrafts, disabling 7 aircraft carriers and its naval escorts. Not to mention the addition of destroying 8 weaponized military spy satellites. And here's the rub;"

Tension slowly began to build up inside me as we all listened closely.

"not a single person was killed..."

""!""

"..."

"..."

While Scourge and Sideswipe eyes widen for a quick second out of shock from hearing that, Tezla continued on.

"This incident has displayed the IS's capabilities; from pulling off high-G maneuvers without being affected by gravity induced blackout or redout, to space flight. The White Knight IS was never seen again and its pilot's identity remains a secret to the general public, even to this day."

"But how does this relate to 'Project Silverback', Tezla?" Ratchet asked.

"Let me finish and I'll tell you." Tezla replied as he takes a sip from his thermos. "Four years after the White Knight incident, Tabane Shinonono unveiled the IS that we know today. And shortly after, the Alaska Treaty was enacted; which prevented the IS from being used in an arms conflict or war, and that all existing ISes were equally distributed around the globe to prevent one country from overpowering the others. But even with the treaty, there's going to be someone, or an organization, out there who'll go against it." Tezla concluded.

"Whoa, isn't the Infinite Stratos normally used as a form of sport? And how do we know for sure if someone's going against the Alaska Treaty? " Sideswipe asked.

"After Magnus witnessed the IS's capabilities first hand during the first Mondo Grosso, he thought about the possible issue of someone or an organization that'll actually abuse the IS of its capabilities. With that, Magnus turned to me and wanted me to develop something that could match up to, and if possible, stop the IS if done so."

"And that is…" Ratchet began assuming.

"Project Silverback..." I finished Ratchet's assumption.

"Exactly!" Tezla confirms our assumptions. "It's a project with the sole purpose of developing the Silverback combat armor. I've been working on it for the past 2-3 years. I was able to complete the combat armor itself, but that's just the armor alone. Wearing just the combat armor won't be able to contend with the Infinite Stratos. So there was another vital part of the project that I was working on in order to complete the Silverback. And that is, the Silverback Spark; the 'life-force' of the combat armor."

All of us looked at each other as we're taking in what Tezla's explaining to us.

"And it's just as you said, Eric. The Silverback Spark is like another version of the IS Core, being a self evolving mechanism, but only if it has a user for a prolonged period of time."

"Okay, but what happened to you 10 months ago, Tezla?" I asked.

"I was just getting to that, Eric." Tezla replied after taking another sip from his thermos. "Before the project was fully complete, I went out to get some parts that were need for Thunder Crash's weapons. And while I was out, one of my colleagues abducted me, which put the project on hold until Thunder Crash disbanded."

"Whoa wait, did you say 'abducted'?" I asked in a surprised tone.

"Yes, she was a spy or agent for an underground organization. They knew about my knowledge and expertise on machinery and weaponry through her, especially the Silverback Spark. That's why I was abducted, for my knowledge of the Silverback Spark, being another version of the IS Core. My captors forced me to reverse-engineer it so it can infuse with an IS Core, allowing an IS to evolve faster, even without a pilot. But I couldn't because the IS could evolve to the point to where it can be a threat to Humanity. So instead, I worked on improving their ISes. But behind their backs, I was also working on completing the Silverback Spark and keeping tabs with Magnus on what's going on."

"And who exactly was holding you captive and forced you to work on the ISes?" I asked with a serious look on my face.

"The organization that abducted me… was Phantom Task." Tezla reluctantly replied. "Apparently, Magnus could be right on one thing, there is an organization out there that's willing to go against the Alaska Treaty and abuse the IS of its capabilities. And there's another thing I must tell you; it's my fault that Thunder Crash was attacked, Eric." Tezla said in a disheartened tone.

"What are you talking about, Tezla?" I asked in puzzled tone. "It was the Japan-Self Defense Force that attacked us, and they had an IS to help them out."

"It wasn't the JSDF, Eric. It was Phantom Task; they disguised themselves as the JSDF." Tezla respond. "They found out that I completed the Silverback Spark, keeping tabs with Magnus behind their backs and the Silverback combat armor. They demanded me to reverse engineer the technology to improve the IS. I've constantly told them that it wouldn't be possible, but they wouldn't believe me because I didn't have the data and specs of the armor on hand to back it up, so then—"

"Wait, wait, wait—did I hear right?" Ratchet cuts in. "Thunder Crash Command knew the attack was coming? And none of you bothered to warn us?"

"No, it was just me." Tezla replied in a dispirit tone. "Even Magnus didn't know, not until a day after the attack. I had so many things going on… just too little time."

After listening on what Tezla went through, all the tension that built up suddenly melted away. "Tezla, stop this. Come on."

"Whoa. What else is there about 'Project Silverback'?" Ratchet cuts back in.

"You're a scientific guy." Tezla responds as he takes out a data disc from his pocket. "Look at this later, it'll tell you more about the Silverback combat armor and the Silverback Spark. I would explain it here, but I don't want things to accidentally slip out." Tezla hands the disc over to Ratchet. "And besides, you guys better get going. It's near closing time." He looked at the clock in the room.

It's currently 11:53 PM, and just as Tezla said; it is well close to Tokyo Tower's closing time.

"Right, Tezla. When do you want to meet up again?" I asked as Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge are walking out of the maintenance room.

"I'll contact one of you guys in probably a week or two." Tezla replied as he continues his work the console he was working on before we had our talk. "Oh and let me ask you one question, Eric."

"Hmm? Alright, shoot."

"Do you guys despise the current hierarchy with the Infinite Stratos in the picture?"

I face turned tensed after hearing it. "You know it. All of us can't stand it with women getting the better treatment while us guys are left out in the cold practically all the time." I replied in a cold tone.

"Earlier tonight, we saw a woman beating a guy down, and everyone else was just walked by as if nothing's happening. We would've help, but given the 'female favoritism', the cops would've interfered and we would've been the ones accused for the beat down, while the woman gets away with it."

Tezla chuckles as if he was expecting that kind of answer. "Eric, if there's one thing I have to say, it would be this; if the Silverback combat armor can match up to the Infinite Stratos, then you wouldn't have to worry about things like that."

"Oh, really?" I respond sounding a bit interested.

"Yeah, but you should get going. You don't want the cops on your asses if they see you out this late." Tezla advised.

"Right, we'll see you again soon, Tezla." I walked out of the maintenance room and met up with Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge who're waiting right by the maintenance elevator.

* * *

><p>We're all back in the school dormitory, in Ratchet and Scourge's room. Ratchet was looking at the contents of the disc Tezla gave to him, and a holographic projection of an armored human figure pops up for us to see.<p>

"There you go—the Silverback combat armor. No pictures, but plenty of data and specs. Knock yourselves out."

"It's a full body combat armor. How can a combat armor match up to something that's practically a mech?" Sideswipe notes.

Another image pops up next to the Silverback, this time it's a crystal/star shape.

"There, I think that's how. The Silverback Spark that Tezla was talking about earlier." I pointed out.

Ratchet continues his work. "He did say that it's the 'life-force' part of it." The holographic image of the Silverback Spark infuses with the combat armor. The armor 'lights up', as if awakening from a slumber and some sort of shielding begins to envelop around the armor.

"Wow, and he wasn't kidding. It's really the very core of the armor." Ratchet observes the holographic image in awe. "Hey, who would've thought that Magnus had a taste for the whole 'crazy-cyborg technology'? I almost admire that." Ratchet chuckles before turning back to his work.

"And apparently, Phantom Task attacked 7 months ago because they were looking for the armor."

So it really was Phantom Task who attacked us that night. What exactly are they after?

"Aright, we'll have to see Tezla again so we can get things all cleared up." I said before heading back to my dorm.

"Well, he really did give us a lot to look at." Scourge notes as he continues looking at the data disc.

"Yeah, he'll be contacting one of us within either a week or two." I reminded them.

Sideswipe and I walked back to our dorm while Ratchet continues to look at the disc and Scourge takes a shower.

* * *

><p><em><strong>9:03 AM, June 22 2021. Ishiyama High, Class 2-D. Odaiba, Japan.<strong>_

The day started out as your typical school day as you're in high school. Everyone in the classroom was listening to the teacher about the day's plan.

"… Alright, we're having P.E. today, so everyone change and head down to the field." The Teacher instructed us before walking out of the room.

"""Right!""" Everybody in the room (except for me) responded.

As my classmates began changing into our P.E. Uniforms, I began thinking about what happened with our meeting with Tezla.

Phantom Task… the Infinite Stratos… and the Silverback combat armor…

Exactly how do these all connect? I do know that Phantom Task was the one who attacked us, mainly because they were looking for the Silverback combat armor, but still… What exactly are they after?

Damn, Tezla sure gave us a lot to think over.

And just I was about to start changing…

*Fr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r. *

The front door to the classroom slid open, all of us turned to see a teenage Spaniard boy wearing what appears to be combat armor and carrying some sort of duffle bag over his shoulder. My classmates did not recognize the guy in that armor, but I did; it's Sideswipe.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Getting you out; here, it's your gear." He tossed a duffle bag and it landed right in front of me.

I opened the bag and the contents that I find in there are actually my combat gear that I used back in Thunder Crash. "You can get into a lot of trouble for walking around on campus wearing that." I closed up the bag.

"Not anymore, there's a slight change in plans for the next few days." Sideswipe shook his head sideways. "Come on, we better go."

"What about class man?" I picked up the duffle back. "We can't just leave in the middle of them."

"We got the approval of early leave today. So we have no classes for the rest of the day."

"Is that right?" I asked in sarcastic tone.

"It's time to get some payback, man."

Still dressed up in my school uniform, and duffle bag in hand, I walked up to Sideswipe.

"Shit!" I reluctantly flared my head up before walking out of the classroom with Sideswipe.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span>

Okay, if you didn't find the reference. It's the high school that Alpha Squad's attending. It's a referance to the anime Beelzebub, where it mainly sets in a high school called Ishiyama High School, a high school that's mainly comprised of juvenile deliquents.

And the guys of Alpha Squad were once delinquents themselves.

But in this story, Ishiyama High is an all-boys private school and the vast majority of students are your typical/average teenage guys.

Hope you guys liked how things are going and if you have any thoughts/feedbacks, feel free to write them as reviews. I'd really appreciate it if you guys would. Those are practically the main things that's making me continue with this Fic.

As for Chapter 5; things are starting to brew up again offline (with the holidays coming up). So it'll probably take a while for that to be up as well. Maybe even longer than this one.


	6. Phase 1-5

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to IS: Infinite Stratos or any content/references that're used. This Fanfic is made just for entertainment and not for commercial use in anyway.

Author's Note: This chapter has the event dates changed so it'll fit in better with the Canon's timeline.

* * *

><p><em><strong>9:13 AM, June 22, 2021. Ishiyama High, Odaiba, Japan.<strong>_

Six days had passed since we met with Tezla in Tokyo Tower. I'm following Sideswipe, who's actually in his Thunder Crash armor, in the school hallway when we were supposed to be in class.

"Where are we going?"

"Shimoda, Shizuoka. Tezla called me before homeroom began and he wanted to meet us there."

"What about Ratchet and Scourge?"

"They're already down at the front gates waiting for us."

"How the hell are we going to get to Shimoda? Isn't it about 1-2 hours away from Tokyo, if you're driving?"

"Yeah, it is. How we're heading there, it might take a little longer. We're heading there by a chain of railways. Tezla already got us hooked up; sent me passes for the railway lines we're going to use to get there."

"Heh, that's Tezla for you."

We reached the front gates of the school. Standing by there are Ratchet and Scourge, waiting for us in their school's uniform. Duffle bags in their hands as well. Looks like Ratchet's slightly annoyed at the sudden early leave.

"So you guys got the 'memo' too, huh?"

"Yeah, we did, man."

"Tezla better have a good reason for us to drag our asses to Shimoda."

"Knowing Tezla, he should. Sideswipe, you got the passes?"

"Nah, they're in our dorm room."

"Then let's head back there and get those passes."

After this little talk, we began walking back towards our dorms.

"And while we're there, it's best if we change into our civilian attire. We'll get a lot of unwanted attention if we don't."

We soon reached the dorms and without wasting anytime, we're ready for our little trip to Shimoda.

* * *

><p>"Looks like we're here."<p>

"Yeah, but where the hell is the doc? He said that he'll meet us here."

Sideswipe and Ratchet were looking around as we stepped off of the train. It is now late morning, and we're in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. 1-2 hours away from Odaiba. This area is famous for its hot springs and beaches, but that's not why we're here today.

"There you are. I was beginning to think if you guys weren't going to show up."

Standing at the entrance of the train station was Tezla, dressed up in camping attire.

"Come on. There's something important that needs to be done in regards of the project."

"So that's what this is about?"

"Yeah, but I'll fill you guys in later. Get in."

Tezla lead us out to his mini-van, looks like we still got a bit of ways to go before we fully get why he called us all the way out here.

* * *

><p>"Alright, we're going have to go on foot from here."<p>

It's been about a half an hour since we left the train station, and we're now near the coastline on the south eastern part of the Shizuoka Prefecture. Although we're close to the coastline, we're actually going through the forest, leading inland.

"…"

All of us continued on in silence, traversing through the brush with Tezla taking point. This is not your typical forest here in Japan; to others it may seem so. But for us, it's something more. This is actually a part of the outskirts of Thunder Crash's base, which is probably why no one is talking.

"Okay, Tezla. How much further is to where we need to go?"

"Just a little bit further, Eric. You feel okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just fine…"

"You don't really have to help out if you don't want to. Last thing I want to do is to force you into this."

"It's okay, Tezla. I have my own reasons."

What exactly Tezla needs help on in regards to 'Project Silverback', I don't know. But that aside for now, it seems that we've arrived at what looks like a campsite.

"We're here. Drop your bags in that tent over there and meet me in mine when you're done."

After Tezla finished speaking, he immediately went over to a large camouflaged schemed tent as we went over to another tent that's slightly smaller on the opposite end of the campsite.

"Ha ha, nothing beats the great outdoors. Right, Ratchet?"

"Sure, if the bugs don't get to you first…"

"I'm guessing this is what happens when you get a little too use to the city life."

"Guys, for us to be in this 'particular' part of Japan, Tezla should have a good reason for it."

Upon entering the tent, there are 4 bed racks; arranged like how you typically see them in military barracks, with the cots on 2 opposite sides of the tent from each other and an aisle going through the center.

"Oh by the way, you guys hungry?"

As we're getting settled in, Tezla came in with some cooking utensils in hand.

"Hell yeah, got any grub here?"

"I got something cooked up from this morning, let me just fire up the grill to warm it all up for you guys. But after you're done eating, meet me in my tent. Then we'll talk."

It seems that Scourge wants to have an early lunch and so do Sideswipe and Ratchet, with them putting their hand over stomach once every now and then.

"Might as well eat now, you can't really talk on an empty stomach."

We exited the tent only to get the swift scent of burning charcoal, smells like we're having a small barbeque for our early lunch.

"Who wants barbeque burgers?"

After hearing that, we all just head straight to the table next to Tezla's tent, and picked up our dishes and burgers.

"Man, it's been a while since we had these kinds of burgers."

"Just make sure the cholesterol doesn't clog your arteries."

"Hey, come on Ratchet. That won't happen unless you'll burn them off."

"Just be glad that we have something to eat out here. Anyway…"

""""Itadakimasu!""""

* * *

><p>"Hm—…"<p>

It was somewhat of a mysterious and kind of dark area.

There were multiple holographic screens up on one of the walls, with projectors on the floor below.

*Tatatatatatatatat*, sounded like how normal people normally use a keyboard to have data put in.

There's one person, other than Tabane Shinonono, who has tendencies of working like this. Being able to identify parts that can be extraneous, analyze designs and take them into another form or shape.

This is actually Daniel Tezla's tent.

"Well, that sure is surprising…"

*Tatatatatatatatatata*, *Tatatatatata…*

"Whoa, how can they miss that?..."

Tezla had a keen look on his face as he stares at the holographic screen that's in front of him. It was as if he was expecting something to happen on what he's watching.

"So it looks like they're withdrawing some of their forces, that'll help out a bit."

While continuing his watch, the entrance to his tent flapped open with a group of guys walking through it, into the tent.

"Tezla, we better have that talk now."

* * *

><p>After our lunch, we're in Tezla's tent to have that talk.<p>

"You better have a good reason for us to drag our asses here."

"Well, after this, you'll be glad that you did."

Tezla tossed a small circular plate in the center of the tent which turns out to be a hologram projector; projecting a region of Japan from a satellite's view.

"You guys know what you are seeing here?"

We looked on at the hologram as it focuses on a certain area. It soon focused on the Shizuoka Prefecture, then Shimoda. Then it focused on what looks like the ruins of a facility near the coastline of the prefecture.

As the images focused more on the facility, Sideswipe's eyes slowly began to widen, because he and I began recognized the layout.

"Tezla, this is…"

"Yes, Eddie. It's the satellite view of Thunder Crash's base."

"What's left of it…"

"This is in real time; what you are seeing here is what's actually going on over there."

"And does this have something to do with 'Project Silverback', Tezla?"

Ratchet had cut in, looking all curious.

"Yes. Truth be told, this is one of the things I need your help. Take a closer look."

We all began to look closer at the holographic image of the base as the image itself was focusing further for a better clarity.

As the image began to focus more, human figures began to emerge.

"Seems that there are some personal there. What the hell are they doing?"

"Those guys are foot soldiers of Phantom Task, Eric."

"The same bastards that attacked us back in November. How long have they've been there?"

"They have been there since the attack."

"Tezla…"

Ratchet cuts in again.

"Exactly how does this relate to the project?"

"To make one thing clear for sure; Phantom Task attacked mainly because they were looking for the Silverback Combat Armor. And about the Silverback's location, it's in my lab."

"But your lab got destroyed during the attack, Tezla. If the armor was there, then it would've been crushed under the ruins, and they probably could've found it and salvaged the parts months ago."

"That is not my lab, Eric. That was actually the weapons and armor maintenance shop that got destroyed."

Tezla switched the holographic image to Thunder Crash's base on the ground level.

"Look, the maintenance shop is a small part of my lab. The main lab, however…"

The image then began to reveal a facility beneath the base.

"…Is underground."

"Whoa, wait a second."

Ratchet has a confused look on his face upon seeing the holographic lab.

"Even though this is underground, don't you think that they would've found it by now? They've been there since the attack, just to search for the armor, right?"

"Yes, they have been since the attack, but my lab is undetectable. The outside layer of my lab is made out of a special material that makes it undetectable by practically anyone and anything, especially an IS."

You got to be kidding me, Tezla. Even an IS can't detect it?

After Tezla finished explaining, everyone began to have a tense look on their face.

"Now, for the past few weeks, I've been here doing a little reconnaissance."

The hologram had switch to the satellite view of Thunder Crash's base.

"Apparently, they're going to pull out of the base soon. But it looks like that they're in the final stages of their search."

"What are you planning?"

"I thought of waiting for them to pull out at first. But that could take weeks, maybe months. And there's also that chance of them finding my lab beforehand. So then—"

"Wait a second."

Sideswipe had cut in, looking all concerned.

"You going to try and sneak pass them, aren't you?"

"Yes, I was planning on it. But I need your help to do so, in case if things go haywire. All in all, we need to get to my lab before they find it."

I get why Tezla wanted to get to his lab. Kind of surprising that Phantom Task hasn't found it for all this time. But who knows what Phantom Task might do if they get the Silverback.

"Doc, you said that you completed the Silverback Spark, didn't you?"

"Not just _the_ Spark; _Four_ Silverback Sparks, Brian. I have to get to my lab, and then 'Project Silverback' will be complete… technically."

"Okay, so you have four Sparks, but didn't you make just 1 Silverback?"

"Look Eric, I didn't say that I made only 1 Silverback, but I'll explain things later. For now, we need a plan to get to my lab."

"And when do you plan to carry this out?"

"…"

The whole tent had filled with silenced after I asked, waiting on Tezla to respond.

"Well, the sooner, the better. In this case, let's wait for a couple of day. We'll go there on the night of the 24th…"

"…"

With how important this whole project is to Tezla, I don't blame him if he wants to do this so soon. But then again, we all have our reasons to do this.

"…"

"What are we sitting around here for?"

Tezla broke the silence.

"We need to come up with a plan."

The holographic image changed from the satellite's view back to ground level. Upon doing so, all of us sat down around the image.

"Okay, Tezla. What do you have in mind?"

"This…"

Tezla began to interact with the holographic image of the base, making potential routes we'll be taking in order to get to his underground lab.

* * *

><p><em><strong>11:53 PM, November 17 2020. Thunder Crash Base.<strong>_

A November night sky has been lit up by the fires of the burning vehicles, buildings, and piles of debris litter the whole place. Inside the ruins of the training facilities, we're making our way through what's left of our former base, with me assisting Sideswipe as we walked.

"How are you holding up, man?"

"I'm holding up just fine, bro." He face then had a sudden change, fixated below my right eye. "Hot Shot, you want to get that checked out?"

I felt the under part of it myself to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Hey, he might've taken some damage to his brain after getting thrown like that from an IS. I felt some moister, aside from the sweat, on my finger tips as I check below my right eye and looked at it.

Blood… Must've been from that firefight back there, judging that there was a little bit of it, it's really nothing to panic over.

"Just needs a patch job. It can wait."

"Shhh. Come on, guys. JSDF are practically all over this place, we have to move quietly."

After Shockwave spoke, we continued our way in silence. Yet at the same time, we're keeping an eye out for any JSDF.

I looked at the others to see if they're okay, but from the looks of their faces; it's as though they don't want to talk at all. They're all just focused on getting out of here. As so am I…

We're now in the gun range… what's left of it. Here we followed Shockwave as he approached the far end of the range that was blown through. Apparently, there's a set of reinforced doors. These doors leads to one of multiple escape tunnels in any case we were to abandon the base. While Shockwave's checking out the damages on the doors, Ratchet was looking at the control consoles that are right next to them.

"Shit, guess things went hairy here as well. These doors are sealed shut."

"Yeah, and the others didn't waste any time on getting out of here."

Electricity was cracking from the control panels with the keypads blown out if their housing.

"They must've done that to prevent any pursuers from going after them. Eric, are you and Eddie okay?"

"Yeah, we're doing okay."

I was setting Sideswipe down to rest a bit.

"Are there any other tunnels we can get to, big bro?"

"I don't think so. This is probably our best shot at getting out of here."

Shockwave was looking around the gun range as if someone might've been following us. Scourge was doing the same thing as well.

"Stay, arctic…"

"Okay, hold here. Hawkeye, open these doors."

A helmet shaped drone appeared, as though it was invisible, hovering right next to Shockwave before going to the circuit panels that are next control consoles. It had 4 blue florescent eyes on its small box shaped head that's protruding from the top of its helmet shaped body.

As Hawkeye got up to the panels, its shoulders popped out from its side with a small arm dropping down from each shoulder. Its right arm is a blow torch, while the left arm has a small four-pronged shaped 'hand'.

*Mm-Mmm-Mmmmmm*

*Mmm-Mm-Mmmm…*

It connected its left arm into the circuit board and began to work.

"We're out of here…"

One of Shockwave's squad mates was leaning against a wall on the left side of the range to get a bit of rest. As soon as he began to check his Saber, a small ruble fell down in front of him, barely missing him.

*Crack…*

We all turned towards the guy and he turned around towards the wall to see a small crack slowly expanding downwards.

*BAM!*

The wall's been busted through. The sudden outburst knocked the squad mate down face first.

*Klunk* *Klunk*

Coming out of the dust that was kicked up from the debris was an IS, but this one is different from the other one earlier. It had and an ominous matching color of yellow and black, and this IS apparently had nothing protruding from its back. Its pilot is a beauty that's deadly upon first glance, with long, flowing brown hair to match it.

"Ugh…"

Everyone, including the IS, noticed Shockwave's squad mate was at the IS's feet, struggling to get up.

"Aw, did the big boy get a boo-boo?"

The IS picked him up by his left ankle, hanging him upside down in front of her. He tried to reach for his Saber, but it fell out of reach. Then suddenly…

*PA!* *PA!**PA!*

"You want a piece of me!-?"

*PA!*

"You want a piece!-?"

He pulled out his sidearm and fired it at her in an attempt to get the IS to let go. All of us took aim at the IS, but couldn't get a shot at her. Not with how she's holding him.

"Oh, you naughty boy!"

She then grabbed him by his right wrist that.

*Ksshack.*

"Ahhhh!"

The sound of flesh and bone being crushed and his agonizing scream echoed in our heads. With his wrist crushed, his sidearm fell out of his hand.

"Now…" The IS pilot changes her grip from his right wrist, to his right shoulder…

"…time for your punishment!"

…and then began to pull her arms apart.

"Grrr-a-a-a-a-a-ah-h-h-h-h!"

*KSHHACK!*

"ALEX!"

Sideswipe bellowed at the moment the IS ripped Alex's body into two.

The IS tossed the 2 half pieces of Alex's body aside, with a very annoyed look on her face.

"Sheesh, she couldn't even handle a small group of kids…"

"?"

A sharp 'claw' appeared behind the IS, giving that full appearance of your typical IS. Only this time it has spider 'legs', comprising the same ominous matching colors of yellow and black, each having a blade like tip.

"Damn it! Ratchet, help Hawkeye out. Scourge, get Sideswipe to safety and then cover him, Ratchet and Hawkeye. Hot Shot, we'll buy them some time."

Shockwave pulled out his Rocket Launcher. While my brothers and I are doing as we're told.

"You must be foolish to think you can take on an IS. Especially like that."

"We'll see about that. And don't people here in Japan introduce themselves upon first meeting?"

"Might as well. The name's Reiko. Reiko Makigami, but you can call me 'Autumn'. And don't even bother introducing yourselves; I know who you guys are…"

"!"

I primed my Saber and aimed it at Autumn.

"What is it that you're after?"

"That is none of your concern. Now… take this!"

The 8 legs deployed the tips, revealing cannons and began to aim straight at me.

"Oh, shit!"

I made a sudden dodge to avoid the energy blast from the cannons, but not without sliding on the floor.

"Not bad…"

I got myself up, as I aimed my Saber at her.

"Why you…"

I fired my Saber at her, and she began to charge at me.

*Dadadadadadadadadadadada…*

As I'm firing my Saber at her, she got closer and closer while deflecting each shot with her 8 legs.

"Pathetic…"

*Dadadadada—kic kic kic…*

_Shit… _

By the time I was about to reload, she was ready to thrust one of her legs.

*Phshew* *Klang*

I deployed both of my forearm mounted combat blades and deflect Autumn's leg away. Upon noticing this, she made a slight grin on her face.

"Oh, my… This is going to be fun…"

She then began to swing and thrust all 8 of her blade tipped legs at me.

"Tch…"

I tried to back away from her to gain some distance, but she just kept on closing in.

*Shew* *Kling* *Klang*

Jumping, dodging, diving, cart wheeling; all I can do at this point is just stay on defense; avoiding and deflecting her legs away.

_This'll turn to shit if this keeps up…_

"Heh…"

She swung one of her legs low and sideways.

"Ugh!..."

I was swept off balanced and fell on the ground. I struggled to get back up but Autumn was already poised to strike her legs down as I tried to regain my balance.

"Time to finish it! Hya-a-a-a-ahh!"

"Hot Shot!"

*BOOM!*

*Shephew*

"Ga-agh!"

I felt pain from the area of my left eye, blood coming out. I felt how extent of the wound was; it was from the top of my left eye brow, cutting downwards across my left eye, ending right next to my nose.

I tried to cover the wound, but blood kept on flowing out, obscuring my vision. As I tried to regain my bearings, I spotted Shockwave, Rocket Launcher in hand with smoke coming out of the tri-barrels.

Realizing where that attack came from, Autumn then turned towards Shockwave, deployed her arm tips on to cannons and aimed it at him.

But before the two engaged into combat, a sudden flash of light was emitted from Shockwave…

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes, looking at a 'ceiling' that's made out of canvas, lightly panting to find myself that I'm back in our tent at Tezla's camp.<p>

"You okay man?"

Sideswipe was at my side as I sat up looking concerned.

"You were tossing and turning in your sleep. You had that dream again, didn't you?"

"Yeah, unfortunately..."

_Come on, man. Now's not the time to dwell on the past. Right now we got, we got a lab to get to._

I looked at the open entrance of the tent, noticing that its dark outside.

"What time is it?"

"8:23 pm."

Sounds like I woke up just at the right time.

"Alright, it's almost time to go. Let's armor up."

I opened up my duffle bag to get my Thunder Crash Armor on. While doing so, I noticed that Ratchet and Scourge are not even in the tent with us.

"Where are Ratchet and Scourge?"

"They're helping Tezla out with the preparations."

"Are they also in their armor?"

"Yeah, they are."

"Alright…"

I finished putting my armor on and began to make a bit of adjustments to it for a bit more comfort. The whole armor sports the colors of gunmetal grey with blue linings/accents, and light blue glowing straps along the shoulders. Damn it's been a while since I last wore this and I definitely forgot that it's a bit bulky. Despite that, I can move around fairly well in this.

Even though I have my whole gear on, there's still something that's missing; my doo rag. It was the last thing that I pulled out of my duffle bag. When it came to doo rags, it was found against military regulations. But as long as your hair cut is within the regulations, it's okay, only within Thunder Crash though.

This doo rag in my hand is black. It's a bit tattered and it had small cuts in a few places. I then put it against my forehead and covered my head, tying the ends behind my head, to make a knot so sure that it's on securely.

"Okay, ready…"

I looked at Sideswipe standing next to me, making final adjustments to his armor. After doing so, he's putting on a headband around his forehead. His armor sports the color of grey with black lining and accents, while his headband is also grey to match his armor.

"…"

Without saying any words, we walked out of our tent to meet up with Ratchet, Scourge and Tezla.

* * *

><p>In the center of the campsite were Ratchet, Scourge and Tezla, all armored up and opening some boxes that are stacked next to them.<p>

Ratchet's armor sports the color of dark blue with black lining/accents; on his forehead is a pair of blue workshop grade goggles to match his armor.

Tezla's armor is similar to Ratchet's; being dark blue but the lining/accents are gunmetal grey.

Scourge's armor contrasts from both Ratchet and Tezla's. His armor is silver with black lining/accents. Even though it's silver, it's rather dark for its color because of the combat damage it had, but its superficial damage.

"Okay guys, you ought to be familiar with these pieces of hardware."

"Oh, yeah, I haven't seen one of those in a while."

Tezla opened one of the boxes and pulled out a pistol. It's slightly larger than your average pistol, except that it had a magazine beneath the barrel of the gun, giving it a slanted rectangular shape to it.

This is the Desert Ranger, Thunder Crash's standard issued side arm in the last 20 years of its active service. The shots in this gun can impact its target instantly, making it a formidable weapon at short to mid range combat. And the shots in this sidearm here is as powerful as a .50 cal BMG round.

"There's more…"

More boxes were opened, revealing rifles and grenades; both being Smoke and Claymore Frag grenades.

The rifles, they're Bolt Rifles and Sabers Assault Rifles

The Bolt Rifle is a Semi-Automatic assault rifle with high fire power and accuracy to match it. Which makes it ideal for mid to long range combat; firing massive bolts that can knock a person on his ass in a single shot. That's if it doesn't go through the person.

The other rifle is the Saber Assault Rifle, Thunder Crash's signature fire arm; a full automatic assault rifle with a deep clip, and impressive stopping power. Because of it being a full automatic rifle, this is best suited for short to mid range combat. But when it comes to close or short range combat, this is where the Saber becomes fearsome to most, due its chainsaw bayonet. The chainsaw itself can be frightening at a first glance because of the serrated teeth. But all in all, it can get you out of some sticky situations.

"Okay guys, you remember the routine?"

I picked up two Desert Rangers, some smoke grenades and Claymore frags, and both rifles; equipping them onto my armor. Not before testing out the Saber's Chainsaw Bayonet…

*Vr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-rm*

"You know it…"

While we were loading up, Ratchet was looking for something in the other boxes. But it looks like he's having a bit of a tough time.

"Doc, do you happen to have any Flak Cannons, or maybe a T-3 Rocket Launcher?

"I'm sorry, Brian. But this is all I can get. The Flak Cannons and T-3 Rocket Launchers self-destructed so they wouldn't fall into Phantom Task's hands."

Shit, that's right. Melee combat isn't really Ratchet's forte. So to compensate for it, he carried a Flak Cannon or any shotgun he can get his hands on. The Flak Cannon is basically a semi-automatic shotgun on steroids, yet it has a low recoil; for its high fire power.

"But I do have these, here..."

Tezla handed Ratchet a pair of MAC-10 SMGs. Those should cover him for a while.

Seeing everyone getting loading up is like being in Thunder Crash all over again. Except that someone is missing…

_Derrick…_

Yeah, missing…

"Eric…"

I felt a hand on my right shoulder to see that it's Tezla's. It seems that he wants to have a private chat. With Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge getting on with their final preparations, I figured that it would be okay; just as long as we're out of earshot.

"Eric, I know that this can be a bit 'troublesome' and coming at you all of a sudden, but…"

Tezla has this worried look on his face, like a father who deeply cares about his child.

"You sure you want to do this? I mean, you've had worse before, but going back there? After what happened 7 months ago?"

Yeah, for the first time in a long while, we'll be heading into our former home. A lot of things happened there…

"Is it because it's where Derrick died?"

Derrick's iTags are dangling in my right hand, tightly clenching them.

"I can't let that interfere with things right now. And besides…"

I placed the iTags in my back pocket.

"I have a squad to lead and we need to get to your lab before those Phantom shits find it…"

Tezla nods, showing that he acknowledged that I'm with him. He then began to walk towards his tent.

While he's doing that, it's best to check in on my bros.

"What's the status, guys?"

"We're all ready here. We're just waiting on Tezla."

"The doc sure likes to take his time, for someone who's in a real hurry and all."

"You know that some things just can't be rushed, Brian. Everyone has their own way of being in a hurry."

"You don't have to wait any longer…"

Tezla's walking out of his tent with a small case on his back, which quickly caught Ratchet's attention.

"Uh, Doc. What exactly is in that case on your back?"

"It's the Sparks, Brian. They're all in this case here."

He then pulled out his Saber and revved its chainsaw bayonet to make sure it's functioning.

"So, is there anything else that needs to be done?"

Sideswipe was checking his Desert Ranger. To answer his question, I picked up my Bolt Rifle…

"There's only one thing to do…"

*Click* *Clack*

"Let's get that Silverback."

"Hell yeah! Let's do this!"

Everybody's ready to get this done.

"Alpha Squad, move out!"

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span> And that's Chapter 5. Now we know who's responsible for the attack on Thunder Crash, and who the guys of Alpha Squad are after.

If you have any thoughts, or feedbacks, please write them as reviews. Remember, I use them as referances for future chapters.


	7. Phase 1-6

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to IS: Infinite Stratos or any content/references that're used. This Fanfic is made just for entertainment and not for commercial use in anyway.

Author's Note: Alright guys, I just want to let you guys know that the date on the events of this Chapter are changed. Reason for this is so that it'll have a better fit with the Canon's timeline later on in the story.

* * *

><p><em><strong>9:13 PM, June 24 2021. Thunder Crash Base Outskirts.<strong>_

On a cloudless night, in the forest near the coastline in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, we're traversing to our old home in order to get the Silverback Combat Armor.

At this moment, I'm taking point with Sideswipe, Ratchet, Tezla and Scourge in tow.

"…"

All of us are keeping quiet as we're going, not wanting to draw any attention. The stealth approach basically, we want to get as close as we can to the base undetected.

"…"

The brush of the forest soon got less and less dense and the moonlight broke through the tree branches as we went on, indicating that we'll be reaching the edge of the forest, and then base.

"…"

So far we haven't ran into any Phantom Task patrols, seems that Tezla's Intel on them withdrawing some of their forces is solid.

Looking further ahead, I can see the moonlight reflecting off of the ocean surface up ahead, indicating that we've reached the edge of the forest.

As we approached the tree line from the forest side, there stood the ruins of our old home, right by the shore.

"There it is. Where this whole thing began…"

"Never thought that we'll actually be coming back…"

Sideswipe's taking a good scan of the area, while Ratchet and Scourge were on look out.

"Damn, they've sure did one hell of a cleanup."

"Well, let's hope that they haven't found the lab yet. Keep moving, Alpha."

Even though we're right by the base, we couldn't just waltz right in. It'll blow our cover. So instead we went along the tree line in search for a better entry to the base.

"Contact…"

Within a short walk, Sideswipe spotted two patrol men up ahead, stopping to have a smoke.

"Okay, Tezla, Ratchet, Scourge, you guys hold here and stay low. Sideswipe…"

*Shephew…*

I deployed my right forearm mounted combat blade and made a hand gesture to indicate him to take the patrol man on the left, while I take the one on the right…

"Got it?"

Everybody made a nod before Sideswipe and I moved on. These guys were about 6 meters (little over 20 Ft.) in front of us.

While we're sneaking through the bush, these guys are completely oblivious of our whereabouts as they're having a smoke.

Before long we're lying low behind our targets, time to tell them that smoking can kill.

I looked at the patrol man that standing in front of my target, to see a hand appear right next to his head and cover up his mouth. Then I follow suit, popping up behind my target, covered his mouth, and we both placed our combat blades against their throats…

**Krrck…**

Blood spewed out of their necks, a bit of it land on both of us as we drop the bodies.

"Man, they said smoking kills, but not like this."

Sideswipe was wiping some of the blood off his face as we hid the bodies in order to keep our presence as low as possible.

"Assassinations like this are really not my forte…"

Not long after we hid the bodies, Tezla, Ratchet and Scourge, caught up to us.

"It's going to be a long night if we keep this up."

"No shit at this rate."

"What? Do you guys want to have a small chat here? Let's keep moving."

I went on ahead with Sideswipe following, and everyone else following shortly behind.

After our encounter with the patrol men, we then found an area that has shipment containers in the vicinity of the base. These containers will provide good cover to get on to the base undetected, more or less. Ratchet also noticed this as well.

"If we're going to get into the base, I'm guessing this is our best bet, Hot Shot."

"Right…"

I took a scan of the area to make sure it's all clear, and it is. I made the signal to bolt for the nearest shipment container.

"Tezla, once we get to the entrance to your lab, do we need anything to get inside?"

"I got my command keys with me, that's all I need to unlock it."

Cautiously going, we went from one shipment container to another, getting closer to the base.

"Doc, about the Silverback; how exactly can it be a match up to the Infinite Stratos?"

"Think of it as a hybrid IS, but for guys, Brian. One that could restore the balance of power…"

Tezla's face then turned to a worrisome look.

"Or it could cause a global war for power…"

Ever heard the saying 'high risk comes with high reward?'. That's exactly what's been said here, this project is high risk.

"Alrighty then... Looking forward to that…"

As we reached the last shipment container, the ruins of a hanger stood about 30 meters (around 100 Ft.) away from us. We need to get through that hanger in order to get to Tezla's lab.

Strangely enough, there are no patrols around the hanger. But we need to keep moving.

As we got closer to the hanger, I began to recognize the damages on it. The doors on it were severely bashed inwards to the hanger, and above it is a massive hole around 3-4 meters (10-13 Ft.) in diameter and massive craters near the doors.

Yes, this is the same hangar that we retreated in when Phantom Task attacked 7 months ago.

We can't just simply go through the front door; it'll most likely be suicide.

"Guys, let's go left, remember the hole in this hanger? Let's go through there…"

And just as I remembered from that attack, there's the hole in the side of the hanger that was caused by an IS.

Cautiously, we all snuck in. The hanger is fairly lit, but surprisingly no body's there.

"Tezla, you sure weren't kidding that they're withdrawing their forces…"

Sideswipe was taking a quick look around the hanger, to find that it's empty of any personnel.

*Ee-e-e-e-e-e-e-e!*

A red beam suddenly turned towards Sideswipe.

"Oh shit…"

He then ducked down behind a table that's turned on its side. Soon all of us were taking cover; with me, Tezla, Ratchet and Scourge behind a massive pile of debris in the corner of the hangar.

"Sideswipe, what is it?"

"Over there, sentries."

Sentries are set up on the other side of the hangar, constantly scanning the hanger for any hostile forces. In this case; it's scanning for us.

"How many do you see?"

"I count four…"

As we're cautiously watching the sentries scan, Tezla then took out a smoke grenade and was about to arm it.

"Tezla, what are you doing?"

"Eric, these Smoke Grenades can do more than just create smoke to provide cover."

"What do you mean?"

"The smoke grenades that we have are working Silverback prototype weapons. This thing can not only shoot out smoke, but it can emit electrical jamming waves to mess up electrical sensors a second after detonation."

I then took a look at the sentries before a red beam 'spotted' me.

"And these are the same smoke grenades that you guys were using for Thunder Crash's final months of active service and most likely during that attack."

"Wait a second, Tezla."

Scourge had jumped in with a puzzled look as if he remembered something.

"These smoke grenades can mess up an IS's hyper sensors, too? Cause I remember planting some on an IS to buy us time."

"Well, an IS's Hyper Sensors are believed that it can't be affected; but possibly yes, Clay. If it's an IS, it won't affect it as much compared to other conventional electrical sensors."

"So in other words…"

"These smoke grenades can mess up those sentries' sensors."

"That's right, Eric."

Ratchet took a look at one of his smoke grenades.

"I was wondering why that IS didn't find us after we left that Training Room. We unintentionally messed up her Hyper Sensors long enough for us to get away."

"We can have this chit chat later, guys. Right now, we have to get to that door."

I pointed out a doorway that leads out of the hangar. And if memory serves right, it leads into the mechanic shop.

"Tezla, do it…"

A smoke grenade was thrown to the center of the hangar.

*Dong* *Dong* *Dong* *Ps-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s…*

Shortly after smoke began shooting out of the canister shaped grenade, the red beams that were scanning the whole hangar started to go all over the place; putting the sensors in disarray. Now is the chance to make our move.

"Go. Go. Go."

We all broke cover and bolted towards the doorway, leading into the mechanic shop.

* * *

><p>"""Ha-ha-ha…"""<p>

"You guys okay?"

"We're all good here, Hot Shot."

We've reached the mechanic shop that's connected to the hangar, the area we're in is small, but it's not the main shop area.

"Come, we got to keep moving."

We then walked down a wide walk way that leads out of the small area we were in, to the main shop area.

As we reached the end of the walk way, we see that the main shop area has huge military cases, probably used to put heavy artillery in for transport. And those aren't the only things in there…

"Quiet guys, Phantom Task up ahead."

Near the center of the main shop area stood a small group of Phantom Task's foot soldiers, probably some of the 'search group' that's doing the final stages if their search.

Apparently these guys are checking on an APC that's next to them.

Unknowing to them, we took cover behind a tank on the right side of the shop as we entered.

Scourge was looking at the group, with his Saber assault rifle in hand.

"Hot Shot, we're not sneaking past them are we? We got a score to settle."

"..."

We did get to the base undetected. And Tezla did mentioned that there would still be some Phantom Task soldiers here while they're pulling out...

With them in the way of getting to Tezla's lab, I pulled out my Bolt Rifle.

"Yeah, we have…"

I tapped Sideswipe on his shoulder and pointed at another APC that's on our left from looking at the group of Phantom Task soldiers.

We both then moved to the indicated APC and once in position, I looked back at Tezla, seeing a slight nod from him and everyone else ready with rifles in hand as I aimed my Bolt Rifle at one of the soldiers.

*Bang!*

With massive kinetic energy and accuracy, the bolt spiked the soldier's head into the broadside of the APC.

Scourge began to jeer as he's firing a barrage of Saber rounds, triggering a firefight.

"Surprise bitches! We're back!"

"Cover Tezla! He's got the sparks."

Phantom Task returned fire from their indicated position as they split off into 3 small groups.

One staying next to the APC, taking cover behind a turned over workbench, another moving left behind a stack of shipment crates and the last one firing from atop of their APC in attempt to get a height advantage on us.

*Dadadadadadadadadada.*

I turned my attention towards the group on the APC, firing my Bolt Rifle hand.

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

"Take out those guys on that APC!"

Tezla's firing his Saber at the indicated group.

"Tezla, just keep your head down!"

Tezla threw a smoke grenade at the group next to the APC, to take some of the pressure off of him, Ratchet and Scourge.

*Dadadadadadadadadadadada.*

A massive barrage of Saber rounds flew at the group of soldiers at the top of the APC, piercing through them.

"Come on… whose next?"

Ratchet reloads his Saber as the soldiers bodies dropped down from the APC into the cloud of smoke below…

That takes care of one group, now there are the other two…

"On the left, behind the crates!"

Sideswipe took aimed at the indicated crates with his Saber as the second group of soldiers began to fire from there.

I armed a Claymore Frag grenade.

"Frag out!"

With a hard throw, the grenade hit the crates and fell on the ground.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

*DUHNN!*

The crates were blown into splinters as the group of soldiers comes out disoriented from the shockwave of the claymore.

"Take 'em out!"

With Sabers in hand, Sideswipe and I hosed them down before they were able to recover.

After killing the group, Sideswipe took a look at their APC.

"Where's the last group?"

I took a quick scan of the mechanic shop, to see that the smoke that was next to their APC cleared out.

"Sideswipe, let's move up!"

We both broke out of cover and moved towards the APC. As we got up to it, nothing was there except for the corpses of soldiers that Ratchet and Scourge took down.

"Hya-a-a-a-a-agh!"

It came from atop the APC. A soldier jumped down with a combat knife in hand and ready to strike.

"Tch..."

I grit my teeth a bit as I was about to swing my right arm at the diving soldier…

*Dadadadadadadada.*

The soldier slightly flew back, and hit the ground. Lying completely motionless as a pool of blood forms around the body.

"Can't stop this!"

The barrel from Scourge's Saber was smoking as he was checking it.

As Sideswipe was about to examine the body, Tezla spoke through the radio.

"_Eric, Eddie, behind you!"_

We turned around and both found a soldier ready to strike us with knives in hand.

Sideswipe ducked and ran underneath his attacker arm as he swung his knife, getting behind him.

"Pathetic…"

He then grabbed his attacker by the right side of his chin and the left side of the back of his head.

"Hah!"

*Kr-ACK!*

Sideswipe twisted his attacker's head around and released him, letting his lifeless body fall.

"That didn't sound good."

"Hah!"

As my attacker swung his knife, I put my left hand up…

*Tack!*

His knife gripped hand is caught in my left hand. I pulled him towards me and thrust my right fist into his gut.

"Gu-ack!"

While he's stunned from that punch, I swung my right fist, sending his head downwards. Following up with an upward swing…

*Shephew!*

My attacker's face had been sliced across as he fell back, lying dead.

"…"

I took a quick scan of the shop and retracted my right arm mounted combat blade.

"All clear, form up."

Now that we had the mechanic shop cleared up, all of us head to a roll-up garage door that's at the other end of the shop from where we entered.

This door leads out into the vehicular testing field. It's like the ones you see at auto shops, the ones where they roll up and down to open and close it, and at the top of the doorway is where the door 'rolls up'.

But, it's not going to be easy to get it to open because it's locked and the chain that's used to open and close it is cut off.

"Damn shame we don't have Hawkeye to open that door. I miss the little guy!"

"Hey, he's not scrap yet okay, Scourge!"

Ratchet emphasizes Scourge.

"I'm just looking for a new power supply for him. He'll be better than new before you know it."

Unfortunately, Hawkeye had to be deactivated after we escaped from this base. He went through as much as we have and was in need of major repairs. And out of the four of us, Ratchet's the only one who can get Hawkeye fixed. Tezla can fix him too, but he already has enough on his plate.

And with him in Ratchet and Scourge's dorm room back at Ishiyama High, it leaves us with an alternative. I raised my Saber's chainsaw bayonet up.

"Come on..."

*Vr-r-r-r-r-r-rrmm!*

"Let's just open this the Alpha way."

*Vr-r-r-r-r-r-rrmm!*

Ratchet revved his Chainsaw Bayonet and we began to cut along the sides of the door and then cut across the door at around Scourge's Height.

*Ee-e-e-er-r-r-r-r-r—Ergh…*

Once we've met in the middle of the door, we shut off our chainsaws.

"Ugh!"

*BAM!* *Bam* *Bam…*

I kicked the door piece that we've cut down and we're now in the testing field.

Sideswipe and I took a scan of the yard as we left the mechanic shop.

"Clear…"

Ratchet, Scourge and Tezla then began to follow suit.

This yard is very open, other than the APCs and Tanks out here, it was relatively empty. But that doesn't mean things are any easier…

"There's a lot of open ground here. Stay alert for snipers."

We navigated through the field by going from APC/Tank to APC/Tank. And before long, we've reached the training facility. The entrance to Tezla's lab shouldn't be too far from where we are.

"Okay, Tezla. How far is the entrance to your lab from where we are?"

"It's not far, Eric. We just need to get through the training facility and then into my maintenance shop. What's left of it that is…"

"Stay sharp, guys. I saw some movement in there."

Sideswipe had his Saber ready in hand; aiming at the opening in the side of the facility, as we slowly approached it.

"Did they see us?"

Ratchet checked his MAC-10s.

"Well, they know that we're here now. And possibly know where we're heading."

"Eric, here…"

Tezla tossed me two dark blue canisters. They're a Stun Grenades, or also known as a Flash Bangs.

"That should give us enough time to clear the place out."

We all approached the sides of the opening as I held the Flash Bangs in hand.

I looked to my squad and Tezla and they gave me a nod to indicate that they're ready.

Without hesitation, I armed and threw the Flash Bangs in the facility.

*BANG!* *BANG!*

We all bolted in after the send detonation.

"Eee-e-e-e…"

*Dadadadadadadadadadadadadadada.*

Even though we were behind cover from the Flash Bang's effect, it still disoriented a bit of our hearing as we stormed in; shooting down the disoriented Phantom Task's soldiers.

When the last soldier fell, it should've taken care of the training facility.

*Clop* *Clop*

*Vr-r-r-r-rm!*

Someone revved their Chainsaw Bayonet.

"Mrr-ra-a-a-a-a-a-ah-h-h-h-h-h!"

It was Ratchet and he began to bring it down on a soldier who we apparently missed…

*Rrr-e-e-er-r-r-r-r-r-r-r…*

*Grshsck!* *Gshck!* *Krck!*

Blood is splattering everywhere until his Chainsaw Bayonet cut through his attacker from his right shoulder to his left hip.

*Rr-r-r-r-r-r-eh-h-hrr…*

"Oh, that's just… that's just gross…"

Ratchet remarked as he's mostly covered in blood.

"Heh, here man."

Scourge tossed a rag to Ratchet so he can wipe the blood off of his face and armor.

Okay, according to Tezla, we should be close to his lab entrance.

"You know, even though you said that Phantom Task is pulling out of here, I was expecting more of a whole battalion here, or a division or something…"

Sideswipe's taking a look around the training facility, Saber ready in hand.

Now that he mentions it, there's been little resistance from Phantom Task at this point. Actually, it was almost non-existent.

They could possibly...

"Well maybe they're pulling out sooner than we expected. Either that or something else must be up…"

"Either way, it makes getting to the doc's lab a whole lot easier."

"Yeah, and that's what's got me all puzzled about their little resistance, Ratchet…"

I was examining one of the corpses to see if he's got any Intel on Phantom Task's plans, only to find out that he doesn't have squat. I would examine every corpse that's littering the training facility, but given the situation we can't…

"Keep moving, Alpha."

* * *

><p>Slowly traversing through the semi dark corridor, we're getting closer and closer to Tezla's lab and the Silverback combat armor.<p>

"Okay, I really need to know what Phantom Task is after. Why the hell is Phantom Task after the Silverback if they have ISes?"

Ratchet broke the silence as we're making way.

"I mean, the IS is currently the world's super weapon, but are they after more power for shits and giggles or something?"

"We'll never know until we find out for sure…"

We've reached the end of the corridor and in front of us is a door that leads into Tezla's maintenance shop.

I can hear a lot of activity that's going on the opposite side. Sounds like they're getting ready for our arrival…

"Okay, these bitches are waiting for the main entrance. So…"

I looked back at everyone, readying their weapons, including Tezla. For this, we'll need every gun blazing…

Even though we're going to face heavy resistance, the maintenance shop's most likely going to be crammed up. I switched to my two Desert Rangers. In this kind of condition, it's best to use side arms so you can have better aiming and mobility in such a crammed environment.

*Click.* *Clack.*

Ratchet had his MAC-10 SMGs ready, and everyone else had ready with their Sabers.

Seeing this, I approached the door, tightly gripping my Desert Rangers in both hands.

"One… Two…"

I swung my right leg at the door…

*BAM!*

*PA!* *PA!*

*PA!* *PA!* *PA!*

Firing my Desert Rangers in a quick-draw fashion, I lead the surprise attack.

Scourge rushed in with his Saber blazing right behind me as we all stormed the maintenance shop.

*Dadadadadadadadadadadadada.* "Guess who motherfuckers!"

*Drdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdrdr.*

We shot down every soldier that was in our path, due to the sudden drop we got on them, and Ratchet's MAC-10 SMGs.

They were expecting us to go through the main entrance, not through the shop's corridor connecting to the training facility.

"We got some more!"

Scourge took aim at the back of the shop; more of Phantom Task's soldiers were waiting behind the turned over work benches.

*PA!* *PA!*

I shot two of the soldiers in the head, splattering their heads.

"Watch the sides!"

We're all split into two groups at the front part of the shop; Tezla and I are behind cover on a turned over work bench while Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge are behind a stack of heavy gun cases, near the center of the maintenance shop.

It's a deadlock, not any one of us can make a move towards the back of the shop. And this is no time for a deadlock!

"Aa-a-a-agghh!"

I pulled out my remaining Claymore Frag grenades.

"Enough with this standoff; get some frags over there!"

All of us then armed multiple Claymore Frags and threw them at the back of the shop.

"Fire in the hole!"

Everybody ducked their heads down…

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

*DUHNN!* *DUHNN!*

*DUHNN!* *DUHNN!* *DUHNN!* *DUHNN!*

*DUHNN!* *DUHNN!*

"…"

After the series of detonations, the shop entered a moment of silence as we all looked over towards the back, seeing that it's cleared.

"Hold here…"

I broke out of cover and cautiously approached the back of the shop with my Saber in hand, just to be sure…

As I got over to the turned over workbenches, blood, guts and huge chunks of human body parts splattered and riddled the back part of shop.

*Frr-agh!*

A workbench had moved right next to me. I looked behind it, to find a Phantom Task soldier crawling, stomach down. His left leg was dragging as blood flowed out from his mid section, kind of surprising that he survived those Claymore detonations.

I walked up next to the crawling solder.

"Eergh!"

I kicked him in the mid section to flip him over.

"Drrgh!"

I jabbed my Saber's chainsaw bayonet into his chest.

*Vr-r-r-r-rm!*

Revved the chainsaw; messily mutilating him as bits and blood splatter everywhere, putting him out of his misery.

*Ergh!* *Ergh!* *Ee-er-ergh!*

"…"

After I shut down the chainsaw, I pulled it out while taking a quick scan around the maintenance shop before giving the all clear.

"You guys okay?"

All of us re-grouped and checked on each other for any injuries.

Other than a few cuts and bruises, we're all okay.

"Man, those guys practically rebuilt this whole thing."

Sideswipe took a good look around the shop, and he was right. Last time we were here, the ceiling had collapsed at the front, and the back walls of the shop were demolished.

"Heh, give them points for a fast rebuild…"

"So, what are we going to do about the corpses?"

"Don't worry about that, I got something that'll clean the place up."

Tezla got up and stretched.

"Hmm."

He then walked towards a door on the side of the shop opposite to where we stormed in.

"Agh!"

*Bam!*

The door was kicked down and he went through it.

This room that he entered is the supply closet for the shop. Shelves were on all four walls throughout the room with another rack of shelves in the center.

"Guys, in here!"

All of us entered the room and found Tezla messing with a section of shelf on the far end of the room.

"Here and…"

*Clack!*

"Ah, there we go…"

*Fr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r…* *Psh-h-h-h-h-h-h…*

The section of shelf Tezla was messing with lowered into the ground, revealing another small room with a high tech security door. It's almost like a safe's door that you find in a bank, except that this has an electrical lock next to its door.

Tezla walked up to the door as he pulled out a transparent circuit board from the case he had on his back.

"Just for insurance; it will not open without command keys."

He then put the circuit board in a slot next to the door and began his work as a keyboard console emerged below the electrical lock.

"It's the same failsafe I designed into the Wolf Pack and Satan's Halo."

Tezla continued on interacting with the keyboard console, before the doors slid opened.

*Psh-h-h-h-h-h!*

"Come, on. It's an elevator that'll get us down there."

"…"

Without saying any words, we all got on and began to descend to the lab.

* * *

><p><em><strong>10:54 PM, June 21 2021. Tezla's Lab, Thunder Crash Base.<strong>_

"Alright guys', standing in front of you is the vital asset that you'll need to take on Phantom Task."

I walked up to the suits of armor to have an up close look.

"So, these are it, huh?"

"Yes, the Silverback combat armor."

What we're doing right now is getting a look at Tezla's latest work that is the Silverback. But if one thing that I have to tell you, it's this; there are 4 Silverbacks. Now I know why he made 4 sparks.

They're standing up straight, but not at 'attention' that you normally see of a military personnel. And they're not all that big. Actually, they're slightly bigger than us, especially the biggest one that Scourge is looking at.

"You said this armor could match up to the IS, but it looks like a modern version of a knight's armor."

"It may look like that, Eric. But it's not the typical armor that you guys have been using."

"How is that?"

"Obviously, it's full-body armor. It protects all parts of the body, including the joints. Not only that, this armor is powered, thanks to the Silverback spark. It allows you to run faster, jump higher and hit harder than your enemies. You'll also be a lot more agile, and those are just the basic functions of it."

"Is flying one of the basic functions, too? Cause this is like a sitting duck if it can't when it's against an IS."

"For that, I have jet packs that are separate units from the combat armor. As for it being built in…"

A holographic image of a Silverback with a built-in jet pack deployed pops up in front of Tezla to show us.

"I have something in the works, but it's tricky. God only knows how Tabane managed to make an IS's flying capabilities."

Ratchet was looking at the case the silverback sparks are in on a work bench and looked back at the armor.

"Doc, you said that this armor is like an IS for guys, how?"

Tezla then had a real serious look on his face when Ratchet asked.

"Human genetics, Brian… I did some digging on how men and women are different from each other on a genetic level. The main thing I found is something that can determine a person's gender before birth; chromosomes, sex-determining chromosomes to be exact. And I applied that into the Silverbacks."

"There are two sex-determining chromosomes. So Doc, what you're saying is…"

"The Silverback will only react to those who have _**the **_specific sex-determining chromosome. And that is the Y-chromosome, the one chromosome that can only be found in males."

I then thought about the IS's flaw that only women can use an IS, which then got me into remembering something about that flaw.

"When Tabane formally introduced the IS, she mentioned that the fatal flaw of women being the only ones who can use it is an unintentional glitch."

Everyone turned their attention towards me, even Tezla.

"A glitch she said that she can fix herself. But even though she said it herself, that damn bitch didn't even bother to fix it and she doesn't even give a flying fuck about how society is now!"

Just thinking about that is enough to make my blood boil. Now putting that aside…

"But for the Silverback, its overall intentional, isn't it, Tezla?"

"Yes, Eric. I thought of it as the perfect way for getting back at Tabane for not fixing the IS's fatal flaw."

"Hah, making the Silverback's flaw the same as the IS's, but at the same time opposite and intentional. Talk about payback being a bitch."

Sideswipe jumped in as he began to take his Thunder Crash armor off.

"Exactly, Eddie."

Tezla then approached one of the Silverbacks, standing beside it and putting his hand on its left shoulder.

"And the name 'Silverback' is not just a random name that I chose or made. It means something else."

All of us had a puzzled look on our faces as we looked back at one another then back at Tezla.

"Gorilla…"

Ratchet spoke out all of a sudden.

"An adult male gorilla…"

I then looked back at the armor before I asked.

"How does the name relate to an adult male gorilla?"

Tezla continued on, picking up from where Ratchet started.

"The name 'Silverback' is the name of an adult male gorilla, but not just any adult male gorilla. Listen, gorillas live in groups called 'troops' mainly comprising of multiple female gorillas, their infants, sometimes other male gorillas, and the Silverback; the dominate male gorilla of each troops."

Interesting…

"The Silverback is the center of the troop's attention, making all the decisions, mediating conflict, determining the movement of the group and taking responsibility for the safety and well-being of the troops. And it may not look like it, but gorillas are considered to be highly intelligent animals, but putting that aside."

"How are they named 'Silverback'?"

"A Silverback is named for the distinctive patch of silver hair on their back that comes with maturity, Eric. But as for how it's related to the combat armor; only adult male gorillas can become Silverbacks. Applying that to the combat armor's intentional flaw, that only guys can use it, the name 'Silverback' properly suits it."

Yeah, a proper name for backing up its intentional flaw to counteract the IS's.

"Alright, we managed to get the armor. So now what, Tezla?"

"Well, I actually have a press conference coming up next week, so I need to get to the sparks into their armor so they'll be ready."

"Do you need any help on the conference?"

"No, Eric. I'm only going to reveal the Silverback on a technical scale. The Demo will be for another time, I'm going to be needing you help on that."

Tezla then opened one of his tool boxes below a work bench.

"And besides, I'll be fine on working on the armor. You guys can rest if you want."

"Okay. But before we can do that, you said that you have something that can clean up the corpses up there, where is it?"

"Ah yes…"

Before he went to work on the Silverbacks, he went to a storage area and brought out some cylinder tanks and some flamethrowers.

"You guys can use these incinerators. You don't have to worry about collateral burns; it'll only burn organics."

I picked up one of the flamethrowers, connected its hose to one of the tanks and strapped the tank on my back.

"Hey guys."

Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge went up to me, wondering what's going on upon seeing the tanks and flamethrowers.

"Even though we managed to get down here, we have to do some cleaning up there."

"Won't these cause unnecessary burns?"

Scourge is helping Sideswipe with his gas tank.

"Not with these, it'll only burn organics."

After a few minutes, all of us were ready for the clean up as Tezla's working on the Silverbacks.

Not wanting to bother Tezla, we went to the elevator without saying a word.

"Oh and Eric…"

Tezla called back to me.

"When I have the conference out of the way, I'll contact you guys."

"Yeah, just do whatever you can to get the Silverbacks done by then."

He then turned back to his work on the armor.

*Psh-h-h-h-h!*

The door opened and closed as we got on and we began ascending back up to ground level.

"Alright, the fastest way to get this place cleaned up is for us to split up. Ratchet, Scourge, you guys take care of the mechanic shop. And Ratchet, while you're there, disarm those damn sentries so they won't be a bother again."

"Roger, boss man."

Ratchet acknowledge as he took one of his tools out of one of his back pockets in his armor.

"Sideswipe, you and I will handle the training facility and the maintenance shop. Not only that, we'll keep an eye out for any Phantom Task forces we've missed."

The elevator had stopped and the doors opened, indicating that we're on the ground level.

We walked out of the elevator, through the supply closet and into the maintenance shop. Seeing that the cost is clear, we than split up into pairs I assigned and began our clean up.

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:17 PM, June 28, 2021. Ishiyama High, Class 2-D. Odaiba, Japan.<strong>_

Not much has happened and I haven't heard anything from Tezla since we got to his lab. Even though we managed help him get there, let's hope that he's able to complete the Silverback.

Its lunch time and everyone were either heading to the cafeteria, staying in their seats to eat their homemade lunch, or just simply hanging out in their little groups.

"Oh…"

I sighed as I'm simply lounging around in my classroom until Sideswipe came in.

"Hey man, want to grab some grub?"

"Nah, I'm not really all that hungry right now."

"Yeah, now that you say it, the food here's not all that great."

Hopefully Tezla will get into contact with us soon, with what's going on at his end.

"Anything from Tezla?"

"..."

Sideswipe took a quick scan of the classroom to see that no one's paying any attention.

"I got a call from him just a few minutes ago, but I think it's best to wait until later."

"Yeah, we don't want to blow it…"

"Hey, did you guys hear about what was on the news?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, that! Turn the TV on, there's a new coverage."

We both heard a small group of students next to us talking about what seems to be a hot buzz today, while one was heading over to the TV to turn it on.

"There, is this it?"

"Yeah, that's it."

_"...On today's news, what could possibly be the next generation IS, might not be an IS at all. Earlier this morning, a conference was held to unveil the 'Silverback'. The Silverback is created by Dr. Daniel Tezla, a former military scientist, and is supposedly said it could be a match up to the current generation ISes..."_

From listening to the news on TV, it sounds like he managed to complete the armor.

He sure caused quite a stir. Making energy/plasma based firearms is one thing, but a whole combat armor is another. Especially that it could be a match up to the IS, theoretically.

"Do you guys really believe that?"

"As if something that small can take down a weapon that only women can use, except for Ichika Orimura..."

I switched my view from the TV to another group of students standing in front of the blackboard.

"You sure got that right."

"Yeah, something that can take down an IS is nothing but a mere fantasy."

I got up and approached the group while looking back and forth in between the TV and the group of students. Anger was slowly building up inside while they began to doubt about Tezla's work.

"Look at that armor; it won't last even a second against an IS."

I then took a quick look back at the TV and then to Sideswipe, standing behind me.

"Oh shit..."

Sideswipe shook his head.

"Hrrrrgghh!"

I picked up the student who spoke last by the collar of his uniform and held him up against the blackboard.

"Got something to say buddy?-!"

"What the hell!"

"Speak up!"

The room suddenly went silent, aside that the TV was still on. As I held the student up, I felt a hand on my right shoulder.

"Easy, Eric! Come on, set him down bro. They don't know."

The students began to whipser to eachother as they're watching.

"Tch..."

Reluctantly, I slowly let the student back down and began walking out of the classroom with Sideswipe following.

The hallway's surprisingly empty as we were walking through it; perhaps this is the best time to talk about Tezla's call.

"Okay, Sideswipe. What did Tezla call for?"

"The Silverbacks are ready for use, and he wants to get us ready for a live demo sometime around next month."

"So he wants us to man them, huh?"

"Exactly, he wants to start our training on July 6. He would start it sooner, but he's got his hands full."

With the buzz from the introduction of the Silverback and a sudden call up from Tezla, it looks like we're going to have a busy summer vacation even before it begins.

* * *

><p><em><strong>10:03 AM, July 6 2021. Thunder Crash Base Outskirts.<strong>_

We're making a patrol on top of a cliff to check if the area's all clear before we head towards Tezla's lab.

"..."

Armored up in our Thunder Crash armor, we were taking quick glances of the area around us as we walked in silence. So far, there's nothing but trees, bushes and foliage. But what really caught my attention, is the astounding view of the ocean down below. And I wasn't the only one who took note of this.

Sideswipe whistles in awe at the view.

"Damn, never thought that something as serene as this was this close to our old base."

"Always the shit closest to home that hits you the hardest."

I turned to my right to spot a beachhead in the distance.

"Oh shit... guys look at the beachhead."

All of them turned towards the indicated beachhead and Ratchet scans it while looking through a longbow scope.

"Great... they're girls on that beach..."

"But what are those huge figures those girls are standing next to?"

Scourge was looking down through the scope of his Bolt Rifle.

I tried to get a better look at the figures Scourge indicated, but I couldn't because I don't have longbow scope to look through like Ratchet does.

"Oh shit..."

Speaking of which, seems he knows something about those figures.

"Now what?"

Sideswipe primed his Saber as Ratchet replied.

"Those huge figures are actually ISes."

"Do they know that we're here?"

I took another look with the best I could.

"Well, we haven't seen anyone up here. So they must be clueless of our whereabouts."

Sideswipe was taking a look at the airspace above the beachhead as we're watching the girls below. _(Not in that kind of way)_

"Heads up, guys, something coming's our way."

"Ratchet, the scope…"

Ratchet hands the scope to me. I took a look through to see 6 bogies heading in our direction, each of them are in distinct colors; white, blue, magenta, orange, black and red.

I took the scope off my eye as they got closer to eye view; I finally made out what they were.

"Shit, ISes! Take cover."

All of us then bolted towards the nearest tree and bush to hide from the ISes.

"Turn on your camo and don't engage them, just let them pass."

I turned my camo on.

As the ISes got closer to us, they began to slow down and eventually came to a stop, floating above the ocean. As of now they're about 4 meters (13 Ft) from us.

I took a closer look at them to notice that they're checking on the red IS as though if there's something wrong with it.

I don't know what exactly they're doing, but I can kinda make out what they're saying.

_"So, how does it feel, Houki?"_

The white IS approached the red IS.

_"It feels... right. I'm slowly starting to get used to the settings 'she' made."_

Wait a second; I could've sworn that I heard a guy's voice coming from that white IS. Could it be...

*Snap!*

I turned towards where the noise came from to see Sideswipe quivering a bit behind a bush. Then I looked back at the group of ISes to see the black IS slowly coming towards us.

Telza said in theory, that these camos can not only make us invisible, but can also hide our heat signatures, heartbeats as well as radio frequencies. Let's hope that it passes this test.

As the IS was floating right in front of us, all of us were literally still as statues. The IS was taking a closer look as if she's about to kill something that's going to pop out.

She looked closer and closer over where I'm hiding.

_"Laura! Come on, we're continuing with our practical."_

Seems that the orange IS called the black IS back to the group. As soon as she got back to the group, they took off towards the ocean.

As they got further and further away and eventually out of eyesight we deactivated our camo and broke out of cover.

Sideswipe and Scourge seemed to be relieved that they didn't spot us.

"Shit, that was close."

"Yeah, a little too close."

I got to hand it to Tezla, even though I've been helping him with his work while we were in Thunder Crash; he never ceases to amaze me.

While recovering from our near encounter, Ratchet looked off into the direction the group of ISes took off.

"Anybody noticed something about the pilot of the white IS that was in that group?"

"You're going to tell me."

"Ichika Orimura; he's the only guy in the world who can pilot an IS! Traitor!"

"It's nice to feel being backstabbed, huh? But we really don't know for sure if it was intentional or not."

I turned towards the opposite direction of the beachhead. We can bicker about this matter at another time because we got other important matters to attend to.

"Come on; let's head back to Tezla's lab. We got a lot of work to do…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>10:43 PM, June 26 2021. Unknown Location.<strong>_

"Hm—"

In a small dark mysterious room, there is a holographic screen that's the only source of light.

"…"

Sitting in front and closely watching is woman with a lush long blond hair dressed in a business suit.

What she's watching on the screen looks to be an action movie, but the truth is that she's actually watching a recorded video feed of a real firefight.

_*DUHNN!* *DUHNN!*_

_*DUHNN!* *DUHNN!* *DUHNN!* *DUHNN!*_

_*DUHNN!* *DUHNN!*_

She continued watching on with a slight interested look on her face.

The camera view is showing from a dead soldier's helmet camera; lying on the floor. In the camera shot was on a soldier crawling as a last desperate attempt of escape.

But then another person came up to him.

The person in the video feed is in his late teens despite his looks, and is wearing a bulky looking semi-full body combat armor that's gunmetal grey with blue lining/accents and blue glowing straps on the shoulders.

He's also wearing a black doo rag on his head, and his face was scared up; showing that he's seen combat despite being in his late teens.

On the right side of his face is one scar below his right eye cutting across above his cheek and a burnt mark has covered the majority of his right cheek. His left side had a huge scar cutting down at an angle across his left eye from the top of his eyebrow ending right next to his nose and a small cross shaped scar is on his left cheek.

"_Eergh!"_

He kicked the downed soldier in the mid section to flip him over.

"_Drrgh!"_

Then he jabbed his rifle's serrated looking bayonet into the soldier's chest.

_*Vr-r-r-r-rm!* _

The bayonet was actually a chainsaw revving while in the soldier's chest.

_*Ergh!* *Ergh!* *Ee-er-ergh!*_

It messily mutilated him as bits and blood splattered everywhere. Some of the blood splattering on the camera lens.

After the chainsaw shut down, he took out the chainsaw bayonet as he looked around.

"_You guys okay?"_

The video then stopped after he spoke, fixated on the armored teenager.

"Fufufu—"

The woman who's watching smirked.

"Looks like that things are going according to plan."

She chuckles while shutting down the holographic screen, leaving the room in complete darkness.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span>

If you have any thoughts or feedback, please write them as reviews. Remember that I'll use them as referances for future chapters.


	8. Phase 1-7

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to IS: Infinite Stratos or any content/references that're used. This Fanfic is made just for entertainment and not for commercial use in anyway.

* * *

><p>*DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON!*<p>

The booming sound echoed as the missiles flew out at the same time from the ISes shoulders and wings.

"Incoming!"

The missiles rushed at us.

"Disperse!"

We all broke off as the missiles closed in.

"_Oh shit! They're locked on us!"_

*BAM!* *Click clack!*

*BAM!* *Click clack!*

*BAM!* *Click clack!*

Ratchet's continuously firing his Flak Cannon at the missiles homing in on him.

With its very wide shotgun pattern on every shot at close range, multiple missiles prematurely went off from getting hit by the barrage of flak shells.

"Tch…"

I had my share of missiles homing on me.

But unlike Ratchet, I didn't equip my Silverback with a Flak Cannon to counter them.

The best I can do is to avoid them at all costs.

I sprinted left, heading for the soccer field with the missiles still following me from behind, roaring like a pack of wolves.

Getting closer and closer to the field, the missiles were slowly approaching right behind me.

There's only one thing that I have that could get me out of this mess.

"—!"

Like a last ditch effort, I burst myself backwards into the air; jumping over the missiles that are locked on to me in a back flip fashion.

I threw out a Concussion grenade ahead of the hoard of missiles as they began to pull up towards back me.

*Beephew!*

With an ear piercing sound, the Concussion grenade went off; throwing the missiles off their course and into total disarray.

Some of them went off by crashing into each other in mid-air, while the rest blew up as they crashed into the ground.

"Ha-ha-ha…"

"_Hot Shot, you okay?"_

Landing to recover from that ordeal, Sideswipe contacted me through the radio comms.

"I'm alright. What about Ratchet and Scourge?"

"_They're okay. Although, the IS managed to down Scourge's Silverback with those missiles, but Ratchet restored his energy shield."_

I got back up and spotted the IS at the school's track and field, engaging on Scourge.

*Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh!*

Scourge retaliates with his Saber assault rifle.

"_Come on, bitch! Is that all you got?"_

"—"

The shoulder wings of the IS then began to slide open as I made a mad rush towards the IS to assist Scourge.

But before I can get a shot off from my Saber, the IS launched another barrage of missiles at me and Scourge.

Scourge was still firing his Saber at the IS, dodging each missile right before they hit him.

These missiles were not lock-on, so dodging them is a whole lot easier.

"Hah!"

I dove forward towards the oncoming missiles through the gaps, and hit the ground rolling towards the IS.

Getting out of my roll, I deployed both of my forearm mounted combat blades and lunged at the IS.

*KLANG!*

The sound of heaving metal clashing echoed throughout the school grounds.

The IS pulled out a Halberd at the last second to deflect my strike, knocking me back.

"—"

"Tch."

Trying to regain my balance the IS was about to strike her Halberd down right at me.

"Ugh!"

I dove right to dodge the first strike, but the IS wasn't done; it soon followed up with a series of swings.

*Whooph!*

Going left…

*Whooph!*

Then right...

And while I was avoiding the swings, Ratchet then came on the radio comms.

"_Hot Shot, I'm picking up 6 bogies heading our way."_

"How far are they away from us?"

"_They're about 10 kilometer (6.2 miles) away from here and closing in fast."_

"Well, check on them once every now and then."

"_Roger, boss man."_

Great, as if things aren't tough enough as it is…

And to finish it with an overhead swing; on reaction, I raised my both my arms up and crossed my blades to block the downward strike.

"Gr-r-r-r-g-gh!"

A deadlock, but one where the IS has the advantage because it's applying its weight down on me.

"Gr-r. Er-r-r-r-rghh!"

I can feel the ground collapsing underneath me; I won't last much longer…

"Guys, I can use some help here!"

Scourge and Sideswipe were frantically aiming their Sabers precisely to avoid hitting me.

"_Bro, we can't get a clear shot with you in that deadlock."_

"Ratchet…"

"_You want to blow up the whole school? Anyway, those bogies have stopped about 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) from here."_

"Well, wha- what are they doing- if they have to stop?"

"_I don't know for sure, but it looks like that they're just standing there."_

"Tch..."

"—"

The IS continues to apply more force on me, forcing me further into the ground.

*Tick-tack!*

I heard a sharp metallic cracking sound from above and looked at my blades.

_Oh, shit…_

A crack began to form on both blades from where the blade of the IS's Halberd in contact with.

"Gr-er-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r…"

As a last ditch effort to break the lock, I shift my crossed blades to the left…

"HYA-AGH!"

And suddenly swung them sideways to the right, diverting the IS's strike.

The sudden jolt threw the IS off balance.

With the current conditions of my blades, I had to retract them and go bare handed.

And just as I was about to make a strike towards the IS, someone blared through the radio comms.

"_INCOMING!"_

"!"

*BOOM!*

Something struck both me and the rogue IS; knocking it down and knocking me away from the IS.

"Dagh! Ugh!... Ugh…"

The helmet's visor had a small bullet hole damage on the lower left side of it. As for the vision, it lost its color and blurred as I hit the ground from that attack.

"Ugh…"

I can faintly hear Sideswipe in the raido comms to alert Ratchet and Scourge…

"_Hot Shot's down! Hot Shot, Hot Shot!"_

"_UO-O-O-O-O-H-H-H-H! Stop this at once!"_

"_Who are you guys? And why are you attacking that IS?"_

"_Shit, Hot Shot! Now—my's joining the party!"_

The radio comms are flooding with constant chatter from multiple sources; making it difficult to make out who's saying what.

All the while my helmet's vision then began to slowly turn red hue.

* * *

><p><em><strong>10:37 AM, July 6 2021 (6 Weeks Earlier). Tezla's Lab, Thunder Crash Base.<strong>_

"What the hell are those ISes doing all the way out here?"

"I don't know, Sideswipe, you want to go out there and ask 'em?"

We had a near encounter with those ISes back at that Cliffside. As soon as they left, we made an immediate return to Tezla's Lab.

Worrying about those ISes can wait, right now we have something that we must do.

According to Tezla, the Silverbacks are ready for use and he wants to start our training with them.

"There you are, anything going on topside?"

Speak of the devil.

Tezla's setting up some computers before we can begin the training.

"We had a near encounter with a small group ISes, Tezla. You still want to go on with training?"

The reason we did that patrol around the outskirts of the base is so to make sure it's all clear for us to train in our Silverbacks. But thanks to those ISes close by, things will possibly go hairy if we do.

"The training doesn't really have to be done outside. As you can see…"

Lights begin to illuminate a large open space behind him.

"We can start the training down here for now. But I've already dispatched some recon drones to surveillance the outskirt of the base for any ISes you've mentioned. Once it's all cleared, we'll move outside."

Tezla then walked to the 4 Silverbacks that are in the Seiza sitting position; the traditional formal way of sitting in Japan.

"There are some things I have to explain to you before you can armor up."

A star shaped energy 'manifested' in front of each Silverback.

"Even though that the Silverback can only react to guys; these four Silverbacks are specifically designed for you guys and you guys alone."

Designed for us alone?

But before I could ask, someone already beat me to the gun.

"What do you mean by that, Doc?"

"I made some adjustments to each spark, Brian. One of the adjustments I made is who it reacts to. Before, I designed the spark so that it'll only react to guys in general. But since these four are the first ones I've created, I feel as though that it has to be only you guys who can pilot them."

As he continued on explaining, Tezla put his hand on the right shoulder of the Silverback on the very left.

"With that, it'll increase the compatibility, synchronization and combat efficiency. These can also be increased by the time that's being spent between the Silverback and its wearer. Even though these four Silverbacks you see here look similar to each other now; they'll change as you use them over time."

Hearing that, these Silverbacks can't be your typical powered armor.

"Just like the IS Core, the Silverback Spark is a self-evolving mechanism. In a way, it's an artificial life form of its own. You need to be one with your Silverback; which is why that it's imperative to have the highest compatibility, synchronization and combat efficiency as possible with its wearer. And that'll allow the Silverback to evolve."

"Okay, then… but with us being the only four who can use these Silverbacks; are you trying to make the whole world our enemy, Doc? We have Phantom Task to take care of, in case if you've forgotten."

"If the world leaders accept the Silverback after the Demo, then I'll create more Silverbacks to even the numbers against the ISes that are currently out right now. And don't worry, Brian; I'll design their Sparks to react to all guys. But right now, let's see how things will play out."

The four Silverbacks that are in front of us all basically look the same; except that they're different in size from each other. Even though they're all slightly larger than us, I would say that they're about 2/3 to 3/4 the height of an IS with its pilot in it.

"As you can see, these Silverbacks look similar to each other. The reason for this is that they're in their Beta Phase; the basic form of the Silverback. The main purpose of the Beta Phase is for the Silverback to get a basic understanding of its wearer. Mainly things like their strengths, weaknesses and preferred fighting style."

Tezla then approached to the next Silverback and began to interact with the star shaped energy in front of it.

"But not to worry, these Silverbacks won't stay in its Beta Phase for long. While they're going through actual combat, they will gain all the experience in that situation. The spark will record all the data about its components and proceeds with its optimization process. Actually, it'll gain experience in any situation while active; from short checkups, to training and combat."

And he worked on these for years, even while being held by Phantom Task. Soon we're going to find out if all of this work is worth it.

"And there we go…"

He then backed away from the star shaped energy and raised his left arm. A holographic screen projected from his forearm.

"Alright guys we'll begin with the biological analysis. I'm going to need you to place your hand on the sparks you see in front of the combat armor in order for them to recognize their pilots."

He then backed away from the Sparks and walked towards a holographic console he set up at the side of the lab.

"Eric, you're first. Your Silverback is the one on your very left."

With multiple Silverbacks in one location, it's going to be tough to tell one from the other.

"Have you thought of giving these Silverbacks names, Tezla?"

"You don't have to worry about that. And besides, each of these Silverbacks will be different the more you use them. I'll explain it later, right now; let's proceed with the biological analysis."

I stepped in front of the Silverback that Tezla indicated, floating in between me and the combat armor, is the star shaped energy; the Spark for my Silverback.

"So I just place my hand on the Spark?"

"Yes, the spark will analyze your biological data; everything from your birth date, current age, height and even your Blood type. But for these Silverbacks, they'll go all the way down to your DNA."

Fixated on the Spark floating in between me and my Silverback, I placed my right hand on the Spark.

"Huh?"

A metallic ring resonated throughout the lab.

Next, a force of energy began to envelope all around me. In the next few seconds all the things that are unknown to me about this Silverback appeared in my conscious; from its basic movements, all the way to its specifications.

It feels as though that I've been using it for years, no. It feels as though that it's a part of me.

And as soon as it began, the energy that enveloped around me slowly began to dissipate and went back into the Spark.

"Ha…"

Slightly panting from the bio analysis, the Spark flew up and dove over the Silverback's head and merged with it from behind.

Seeing the Spark merge with the Silverback, my biological analysis is complete without Tezla saying anything before he notified Sideswipe.

"Eddie, you're next."

* * *

><p>*Tatatatatatatata* *Tac*<p>

"Alright, biological analysis is complete. All Silverback systems are nominal."

Immediately after a few hits on the holographic keyboard, sound of metal folding echoed out as the suits of armor adjusted to fit their wearer's body build.

The Silverbacks began to rise up from their Seiza sitting position with blue neon lighting on their linings/accents flickering on and off at the same time.

Once in full standing position, they set their arms off from their sides and legs shoulder width apart.

With their lights fully on, they began to open up from the back; ready for their wearers.

"Just slip inside from the back and Silverbacks will take care of the rest."

I went around my Silverback and slipped into it from behind, as well as everyone else did with theirs.

Once I got my arms in, the back of the armor began to close; incasing me in the armor.

After the armor made its final adjustments, the armor had awakened from its slumber; status feed coming up on the visor.

_**[Energy Shield: Online]**_

_**[Mobile Systems: Online]**_

_**[All Systems Nominal]**_

The armor's energy shield had enveloped around the armor. Seeing through the visor, I took a scan around the lab to have a feel for the combat armor's vision.

In just one quick look, it feels as though the visor's not even there.

"_How's it feel, Eric?"_

Tezla asked through the radio comm as he continued to observe us as we are slowly getting accustomed of using the Silverbacks.

"It feels…"

The armor feels a bit bulky like the flexibility's limited, but I'm already accustomed to that thanks to the Thunder Crash armor I used before. Then I put up my right hand and slowly clenched it to make a fist.

"…right. Except… this."

I felt the helmet that I'm wearing and noticed by looking from the inside of it around the visor, it isn't transparent.

"I feel like I'm a Faceless goon, not a warrior."

"_If the user prefers, that helmet won't stay looking like that when the Silverback gets out of its Beta Phase. For it to get out of the Beta Phase is to use it continuously. But unlike other helmets that Thunder Crash had issued, these helmets are cybernetically enhanced to react with the human nervous system. Which will feed into the combat armor; you perform an action, the Silverback will perform the same action instantaneously."_

"Uh-huh…"

That better happen when this gets out of its Beta Phase, because before, all of us preferred not to use any helmets. We even opt out on using the helmet Thunder Crash issued to us while on active duty.

Why? It's because it obscures our vision, preventing us from seeing snipers. Also, the visor on those helmets had the tendency of giving off a glint of sunlight. That right there is a sign telling a sniper 'Shoot here!', and it didn't give much protection from a direct hit by even the smallest of live rounds.

I'm guessing those helmets were there just for aesthetics purposes. Anyway, I wonder how Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge are doing.

"You guys doing okay over there?"

Ratchet and Scourge appear to be okay in their Silverbacks since they're already walking in them as if it was normal for them.

Sideswipe, on the other hand, seems to be having a tough time walking in his Silverback.

"_I feel like that I'm a juggernaut in this thing. I can't move around as well."_

Yeah, out of all four of us, Sideswipe's the fastest and the most agile. He even had to have his Thunder Crash armor slimed down so it won't interfere with his mobility at all.

"_Just as I said before, Eddie; the main purpose of the Beta Phase is for the Silverback to gain the basic understanding of its wearer. Since the Silverbacks are designed for combat, it'll gain the most experience during combat, training or real. Once it's gone through actual combat in its Beta Phase, the Spark will record all the data from it and use it for the final configurations that'll best prefer its wearer."_

"_So basically, we have to take these out into the field, huh, Doc?"_

"_Yes, Brian. Once the Silverbacks gain enough experience, not only they'll be at their wearer's preferred configurations, they'll also take on a change in appearance. Okay…"_

Tezla was looking at the holographic screens in front of him.

On these screens are live surveillance feed from the recon drones he dispatched earlier.

"_It seems that you guys are beginning to have the basic movements down. I'd prefer that we head topside to move on with the training. But…"_

He made a slight pause with a keen look on the same screens.

"_Your close encounter with a small group ISes turned out to be solid. Look here…"_

The same surveillance feed that Tezla's watching then displayed on each of our visors.

ISes are floating above the beachhead we spotted earlier today, but they're different from the ones we've had a close encounter with. Even though they have a similar to the orange IS, but they're hunter green colored and the pilots are wearing jet black colored pilot suits.

"You think they can pick us up if we're to head topside, Tezla?"

"_I don't think so; not with the mountainous terrain in between this base and that beachhead. But it's best that we stay down here for now. You'll never know if they'll come on flying over here."_

"Yeah, good call. Especially with that near encounter we had earlier."

Taking knowledge of this, Tezla ended the surveillance feed on our visors.

"_Let's continue with the mobility training."_

Throughout the remainder of the day we all continued our training underground and just plain out of sight.

* * *

><p><em><strong>10:18 AM, July 6, 2012. Off the Coast of Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.<strong>_

"_Hey, Houki. Are you doing okay?"_

"_Yeah, Ichika. It's like that I've been using the Akatsubaki for years."_

Flying off towards the open ocean is a group of six ISes, each in distinctive colors; white, blue, magenta, orange, black and red. These ISes are the Byakushiki, Blue Tears, Shen Long, Raphale Revive Custom II, Schwarzer Regen and the Akatsubaki.

All 6 of them are on practical flight training due to IS Academy's beachside training. Unlike in IS Academy, the students have the freedom of training in their ISes in an open environment.

For this group, this flight training is mainly for the Akatsubaki's pilot.

All seems to be going well until the pilot of the Raphale Revive Custom II, Charlotte, looked back at the Schwarzer Regen's pilot.

"_Laura, you okay? Looks like something's bother you."_

"_Huh? Oh, Charlotte…"_

The silver haired had a puzzled look on her face.

Soon everyone took notice of this.

"_It's when we were on that Cliffside…"_

"_What about it?"_

"_I thought I sensed a small group of people was there watching…"_

Cecilia and Rin, pilots of the Blue Tears and the Shen Long, began to have suspicious looks on their faces when Laura mentioned it.

"_What do you mean watching?"_

"_Whoever they are, they better know who they're messing with."_

"_Mmh…"_

Laura nodded in agreement as she soon went into deep thought about it until Ichika, Bykushiki's pilot, spoke.

"_Come on, Laura. Don't get all caught up on it."_

"_But still…"_

Laura still had a puzzled look on her face. With her face like this, it's making everyone all concerned.

"_Everyone, we got an issue at hand."_

Everyone then focused on a deep female voice that just came into their IS's radios.

"_What is it, Chifuyu-nee?"_

"_That's Orimura-sensei… This is an important matter that can't be talk on the radio. Head back here immediately. We'll fully brief you then."_

Ichika sighed a bit as they all began to turn back towards the Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture coastline, amplifying their thrusters to hurry back.

* * *

><p><em><strong>5:26 AM, July 7 2021. Tezla's Lab, Thunder Crash Base.<strong>_

"Tezla, are you picking anything up?"

"I'm not getting anything on the scanners or the recon drones, Eric."

The training from yesterday went better than what Tezla expect. In the first few hours of using the Silverbacks, all of us are able to get the hang of moving around with them.

Today, he wants to resume the training as early as possible. Given that his live demo is sometime around next month, I don't blame him.

"From what it looks like, we can head outside to begin the next part of the training."

All of us then moved towards where the Silverbacks are stored.

As we got to the Silverbacks, Tezla brought up a holographic key board on his left forearm, and with a few hits on it, the Silverbacks went into their stand by positions, waiting for their wearers.

"Here we go again."

Ratchet slipped into his Silverback and the combat armor began to close up to fully encase him.

Not wanting to waste any time, we all got into our Silverbacks.

Once the combat armor encased us, we're ready for the day's training.

"_How's it look, guys?"_

"Everything looks good."

The armor feels a perfect fit around me, and it seems that mine isn't the only one. Even Sideswipe has no problems with his.

"_Same here."_

"_Cool and it fits even better from yesterday."_

"_Come on, Tezla. What do you have planned for us?"_

"_Just head outside, I'll fill you guys in there."_

Without hesitation, we all got on the elevator that'll take us above ground for our training.

"What about you, Tezla? Are you coming up with us?"

"_I'll have to stay down here and keep an eye on the scopes in case if any ISes are in the area."_

"Keep us posted on that , Tezla."

"_Right, Eric."_

* * *

><p>As the elevator took us up, we had no idea on what Tezla had for our training today.<p>

It really can't be combat training, no. It's too soon for that. And we just got the basic movements on the Silverbacks down last night.

Maybe it could be weapons training? No, just like for combat training, it would be way too soon for that.

And I don't remember seeing any weapons that looks like they go with the Silverbacks in Tezla's lab yesterday, or before we got on this elevator.

The only way to find out is when we get right to it…

*Da-duhn.* *Psh-h-h-h-h-h-h.*

We've reached the surface as we got out of the elevator and into Tezla's weapons maintenance shop.

The place is a mess with the stools and work benches turned over and littered the shop floor. As we all head outside, the morning sunlight reflected off of my helmet's visor.

Thanks to the Silverback's helmet, the visor greatly reduced the amount of glare on my vision.

As we got onto on the vehicular testing fields, we got a great view of the sun rise over the ocean in the far distance.

"_Damn, that's quite the view, isn't it?"_

"Yeah, Sideswipe, it is…"

It seems that all of us took note of it, especially Scourge and Ratchet.

"_Are you guys seeing this shit?"_

"_Hard to believe that we've lived here for 4-5 years of our lives…"_

"Ah, hell. We've been too busy with our missions to actually take in the surrounding view, Ratchet."

The sun rising had us mesmerized and we all began to take in how serene the outskirts of this base is.

How the lush trees look on the mountainsides towards the north, and west. And a Cliffside towards the south that looks over the ocean in the east.

It feels like that it's not a military base at all, with its surrounding area like this.

"_Eric, are you guys there?"_

Bringing us back down to earth was Tezla.

"Yeah, we're here, Tezla."

With him contacting me, it can mean one thing...

"Enough gawking guys, Tezla wants to get today's training started."

And just like that, Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge had turned their attentions to their radio comms.

"_Alright, since you guys have the basic movements down from last night, we're moving on to the next stage in mobility training."_

"_And what would that be, Doc?"_

"_Sprint training, Brian; you guys are going to be doing that for today's training."_

Tezla did say that one of the basic functions of the Silverback is that it allows you to run faster. Guess he wants us to move onto that.

"_You guys were able to get the hang of moving around in the Silverbacks last night because the first stage of the mobility training mainly comprised of the basic movement you guys do to get around every day in your life, and that's walking."_

"And you want to want us to do Sprint training out here because…"

"_There's a lot more room out there. If you guys were to do the Sprint training down here in my lab, you're likely to crash and cause unnecessary damages to the lab."_

No argument here…

"_We could start the Sprint training now using the vehicular testing field, but those wrecked humvees and tanks are going to be an issue. So you guys have to get some of those wrecks cleared out before you can start."_

"_And how the hell are we supposed to do that?"_

Sideswipe was taking a good look at his Silverback's arms as though he's a bit disgusted because they don't look 'muscular'. Not just him but mine and Ratchet's as well.

"_Just grab hold of the wreckages, and lift."_

Just as when Tezla said it, Ratchet took a look at the wrecked humvees and tanks, then back at his Silverback.

"_The Doc should know better than us that these wrecks are no feather weights; the weight of these humvees range from 2,340-2,680 Kg. (5,200-5,900 Lbs.). And the wrecks of these tanks aren't any lighter either, with some of them weighing up to that of an M1 Abrams Tank at 61,326 Kg. (135,200 Lbs.)! That's around 25-30 times heavier; not so good unless if you want multiple hernias."_

He's got a point there. Not unless if we're forgetting something…

"_Remember that one of the other basic functions of the Silverbacks is that it can allow you to hit harder than your enemies. That right there comes from strength provided by the Silverback Spark…"_

While Telza's in the middle of his explanation, Scourge grabbed hold of a wrecked humvee by its front grill.

"… _If it allows you to hit harder than your enemies…" _

"_Hu-ugh!"_

The sounds of metal creaking and moaning resonated throughout the testing field as he lifts the wreck off the ground.

"… _then it'll allow you to lift heavy objects that normally require heavy machinery to do so."_

"_Ho ho, yeah, who needs a fork lift now?"_

Not only Scourge picked up the wrecked humvee with ease, but he also held it high up above his head. If he can do that, so can we…

"Tezla, where do you want us to put the wrecks?"

"_Just put them right by the mechanic shop, but don't stack them in a huge pile. I got something in mind with those."_

"Roger, Tezla. We'll get right to it."

"_Oh and one more thing; you might need to assist each other with some of those tanks."_

"Uh-huh…"

Not wanting to waste any more time, we all got to work and began clearing some of the wrecks out of the testing field.

* * *

><p>Most of the wrecked humvees and tanks that were in the testing field are cleared out.<p>

Normally, a clean up like this would take hours, but with these Silverbacks, it took around 30 minutes…

"_Alright, that tank near you guys is the last one you'll have to take out. Once that's out of the way, then we'll begin the Sprint training."_

The tank Tezla indicated is not going to be easy to get out, because it's an M1 Abrams tank. And just as Ratchet stated, this tank weighs 61,326 Kg. (135,200 Lbs.).

"Guys, I can use some help here."

All of us approached the tank with assessing on how we're going to get it out; with Ratchet pointing things out a bout it.

"_Well, we can't pick it up by the tracks because we don't know if it's in neutral; and if it is, then the track treads are going to move while we're carrying it and it'll fall off and possibly turning us into pancakes."_

"_You think that we can take it apart?"_

"I don't think so, Sideswipe. Tezla has something in mind with these wrecks and I don't think taking them apart is one of them."

"_Oh come on, guys. How about we just pick it up from the front and back, in between the tracks?"_

I Looked at the front and back of the tank after hearing Scourge, the central part has chain connectors on each side, next to the treads. Probably these are used to keep the tank securely chained down for transport.

"Worth a shot. You guys see these chain links on the underside? We'll use them as grips to lift the tank up."

Ratchet and Scourge went to the front of the tank, while Sideswipe and I went to the back.

"Alright, everyone got a good grip?"

"_Yeah, we're good up here."_

"_Same here, bro."_

"Okay, altogether…"

""""Hu-u-u-uggh!""""

The tank is up off the ground and we began moving towards the mechanic shop.

"Tezla, are you picking any ISes up on your end?"

"_I'm not getting anything, so you guys are good."_

With this tank out of the field, the field itself now looks more ideal for the Sprint training.

"_Hey, Hot Shot."_

"Yeah, Sideswipe?"

"_Are you feeling okay man? Being here at this base and all?"_

Since we've first met Tezla in Tokyo Tower, I've been having some flashbacks in my sleep, flashbacks of that attack back in November 2020.

That night I'll never forget, forged into my memory.

But right now, I can't let that bother me…

"I'm fine…"

"_Suit yourself man."_

"…"

"""…"""

All of us continued moving the tank in silence, until we reached the mechanic shop.

"Alright, let's set it down here…"

Gently, we lowered the tank wreck with ease. And with it now resting on the ground, we can get on with today's training.

"Tezla, the last tank is cleared and we're ready for the Sprint training."

"_Okay, but can you give me a status report on the Silverbacks? I'm picking up some sort of power fluctuation coming from the sparks."_

I took a look at my Silverback and then towards Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge seeing that they're doing the same with their Silverbacks. I'm not really getting anything on my Silverback.

"You guys feeling anything strange?"

"_I got nothing…"_

"_I'm all good here."_

"_Are you sure that's not a glitch you're getting, Doc?"_

"_No. Well, whatever it was, it's gone now. Anyway, let's get the Sprint training started."_

As Tezla began to explain the process, we began to head back towards the field.

"_The Sprint training is just as it names implies; it's how to run at beyond super human speed with the Silverback. To do so, is to simply run when you're in the Silverback."_

"_I'm not getting the whole point of this, Doc."_

"_The whole point is so that you can adjust to the immense speed that you'll be traveling and gain control of it."_

"_So all we have to do is just run, huh? Won't things go haywire if we go too fast beyond our control?"_

"_I have the emergency shutdown control down here in case the Silverbacks go out of control, Eddie."_

"_If you say so…"_

I don't blame Sideswipe and Ratchet for getting all antsy because we've only been using these Silverbacks for a day. And we're already moving on to the next stage in training.

To be honest, I'm just as nervous as they are…

"_Hey, Tezla had risked his life to get these Silverback done. The least we could do is to show some goddamn faith."_

"…"

Scourge is right, he's been held hostage by Phantom Task, forced to work on their ISes and finishing the Silverback Sparks behind their backs. Not to mention that he somehow escaped to complete the combat armor.

"_Thank you, Clayton. Now are you guys ready to begin?"_

I took a look at everyone when Tezla asked and they all gave a sharp nod as a sign of them ready.

"We're all ready…"

"_Alright, the concept is simple; all you guys have to do is just run, and the Silverback will assist you. You guys see that M1 Abrams tank on the other side of the field? The visors on the helmets will help with the vision."_

The tank Tezla mentioned is clear across the testing field.

Using the Silverback's cybernetically enhanced helmet, the visor gave me a close up view of the tank. The visor is telling me that the tank is 2 km (1.24 miles) away from our current position.

"Yeah, and by that tank you mean…"

"_You guys are to run up to that tank, give it a tap and run back."_

"_Is that it? I thought there would be more."_

"_That's just the beginning, Clay. As you progress, we'll move on from there. Eric, you're first."_

It seems that Tezla wants me to set an example for everyone, but I know that my guys don't really need me to do so.

Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge took a few steps back to give me some space. This isn't like that it's a huge competition or anything, all I have to do is just run up to the Abrams, give it a tap and run right back, easy.

"_Just run and the Silverback will assist you."_

I took a sharp look at the Abrams in the distance as tension begins to build up in me.

"_Ready?..."_

"…"

I lowered myself into my combat stance….

"_Go!"_

I burst off towards the Abrams at break neck speed.

Putting in every ounce of energy, I've reached my top speed. But the Abrams is still so far ahead…

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…"

Heavily panting with each stride, I can only keep this speed up for so long…

"Ha… Ha… Ha…"

Great, I just started and I'm already at my limit. Now my speed's dropping.

*Hm-m-m-m-mm*

"Huh?"

Just as my speed began to drop, I feel this warm energy beginning to course through my whole body.

With that, my speed began to increase...

But as this energy continues to course through my body, I surpass my top speed.

_What is this?_

The faster I ran, the more energy continues to build up.

As I'm going, I made a sudden stop at the Abrams, gave it a tap and made a mad dash back.

Bursting off for the run back, all the energy that's build up suddenly went off like an atomic bomb!

My whole vision became a blur due to the sudden burst of speed, but the visor soon fixed itself, restoring my vision.

And before I knew it, Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge came into eye view.

Seeing them, I began to decrease my speed. As I'm doing so, the energy around me slowly began to dissipate.

With that, I was now running at average speed as I reached my squad.

* * *

><p>"Ha-ha-ha-ha…"<p>

"_Good. That was good, Eric."_

Lightly panting and recovering from my run, Tezla informed me of my run.

"_You did it in 8.2 seconds, rest easy for a bit. Eddie, you're next."_

Sideswipe then moved into his starting position, but not before asking.

"_Hey, Tezla. Can Ratchet and Scourge be part of this as well?"_

"_Why do you ask?"_

"_Wouldn't it be faster to test three Silverbacks at once instead of just one at a time?"_

"_Well, putting it that, I guess it wouldn't hurt. Alright, Brian, Clayton, you guys are up too."_

After hearing that, Ratchet and Scourge went with Sideswipe, lining up side by side.

"_Ready?..."_

They've lowered their stance…

"_Go!"_

Bursting off, all three of them began their run towards the Abrams.

A few seconds after starting, they've already reached their top speed under their own power.

The first quarter of their way towards the Abrams, energy began to envelope around them and after they're fully enveloped, they surpassed their top speed.

Just like when I did my run, they've reached the Abrams, gave it a tap and burst off for the run back here.

This time moving faster and eventually became a slight a blur a third of the way in on the return run.

Just as they're halfway through, one of them began to pull away; I'm guessing it's Sideswipe.

After a quarter of the return run left, the energy that's enveloped around them slowly began to dissipate as they began to slow down.

Needless to say, they've put on a good run.

* * *

><p>"<em>That was good guys."<em>

"_Yeah, that was rather… exhilarating."_

"_Man, I can do that all day..."_

"_That went a lot better than I expected."_

"Don't get too comfortable just yet guys."

The day has only just begun, and they're already getting used to these Silverbacks.

"_That right there guys is the Silverback's Sprint. Throughout those runs you guys did, the Silverback assisted you guys the whole way. It allows you to run up to super human speed and beyond."_

"So is the whole day going to be like this? Running back and forth?"

"_It's not just that, I got other things planned for you guys."_

"..."

Doing these sprints in these Silverbacks must've given off some energy that might've been detected. But I better make sure...

"Are you picking anything up any ISes, yet?"

"_Everything's been clear so far."_

We don't want any ISes to get involved in this. The reason for this is so that can prepare without any disruptions for the time being, and when the time comes, we'll be ready.

"_Wait a minute…"_

Tezla sounded a bit startled through the radio comms and all of us are listening close.

"What is it, Tezla?"

"_I'm picking up 4, 5, no… 6 energy signatures coming in from the southeast."_

"Could it be the Japan Air Self-Defense Force doing their flight training?"

"_I don't think so, hold on; I'm getting a better look at them from the recon drones."_

Tension slowly began to build among us as we're waiting to hear about the incoming signatures with Eddie asking;

"_What do you guys think, Japan Air Self-Defense Force?"_

"_I don't know for sure, but it's giving me Goosebumps!"_

Brian slightly rose his right arm up as a gesture to what he's getting.

"_Okay, I'm getting the images…"_

Come on, Tezla. What's heading our way?

"_Shit!"_

That doesn't sound good.

"_Eric! We got ISes, inbound!"_

"_Oh great! Just great!"_

Ratchet's obviously startled now that its ISes Tezla picked up.

"_Those ISes are closing in, fast. Get the hell out of there!"_

"Right. You heard him, get back to the maintenance shop!"

Without hesitation, we all made a mad dash towards the maintenance shop.

"_Well, there goes our training plan."_

Sideswipes pulled ahead of us just as we reached the mechanic shop, passing by the wrecks we removed.

I looked up towards the south east Tezla indicated where the ISes are expect to be inbound from.

In the clear sky above the Cliffside, are 6 humanoid looking figures with huge legs and wings off of their backs flying in.

No doubt about it, they're ISes alright.

"_Uh, aren't those the same ISes from yesterday?"_

Sideswipe was looking towards the ISes and I took a sharper look at them with visor. They're all in distinct colors…

White, blue, magenta, orange, black and red…

"Shit! They _**are**_ the same ones from yesterday!"

"_This is just perfect! Not only we're outnumbered, we're also unarmed."_

"Come on, we're almost the maintenance shop, keep moving!"

Thanks to the Silverback's Sprint, we're able to get to the maintenance shop and we've reached the elevator to get to Tezla's Lab.

"Go, go, go!"

I urged Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge made into the elevator as the doors opened.

I bolted in, but not before the ISes landed just outside of the maintenance shop.

""""Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…""""

"Oh, shit that was close…"

"_Way too close for comfort…"_

Ratchet deactivated his helmet. It began to fold in from the top to the base of his neck to expose his face.

"_You guys okay?"_

"We've made it, Tezla. But barely…"

"_I'm sorry about this, guys."_

"Shit like this happens sometimes…"

"_Unfortunately we're going to have to stay down here and put the training on hold until then."_

"_Can't we just continue it?"_

"_We can but not as much, Clayton. You guys need more open space and my lab's not large enough."_

That's just typical. Just as things are going as planned, it all turns to shit…

*Da-duhn.* *Psh-h-h-h-h-h-h.*

As soon as we got into the lab, all of us, aside from Ratchet, deactivated our helmets to discuss a new plan for the rest of today's training.

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:16 AM, November 18 2020. Thunder Crash Base.<strong>_

"Hot Shot!"

*BOOM!*

*Shephew*

"Ga-agh!"

I felt pain from the area of my left eye, blood coming out. I felt how extent of the wound was; it was from the top of my left eye brow, cutting downwards across my left eye, ending right next to my nose.

I tried to cover the wound, but blood kept on flowing out, obscuring my vision. As I tried to regain my bearings, I spotted Shockwave, Rocket Launcher in hand with smoke coming out of the barrels.

Realizing where that attack came from, Autumn then turned towards Shockwave, deployed her leg tips into cannons and aimed it at him.

But before the two engaged into combat, a sudden flash of light was emitted from Shockwave.

*Ee-e-e-e-e-e-ee…*

An ear piercing sound echoed throughout the gun range.

Seems that he set off a flash bang.

"Ugh…"

Autumn's a bit disoriented from it.

*Kluck* Klack*

Shockwave was just about to unload another round of rockets…

"Hah!"

Autumn made a sudden lunge at him to strike his body with her legs.

*Shee-e-ew!*

But instead of the legs piercing through him, he used his Rocket Launcher as a shield.

"Tch…"

Disgusted, Autumn pulled her legs away, with Shockwave's Rocket Launcher on them as it blew into pieces.

"Damn it…"

Shockwave uttered as he tried to back away from Autumn; but just like she did with me, she kept on closing the gap he made.

She kept on pouring the pressure on him as he dodges each strike from her legs.

"Come, you know you can't keep on dodging forever~"

"I don't have to."

"Tch…"

Autumn launched all 8 of her legs at Shockwave, but instead of dodging them, he lunged forward in between the gaps of her legs and performed a counter clockwise twist and when he got close to her…

"Hyah!"

"What?!"

Autumn's face then turned from that of a sadistic killer to appall.

*Whoo-DUHN!*

A thunderous sound boomed through the gun range.

"Ga-agh!"

Autumn was sent back away from Shockwave. She slid on her feet as she was trying to regain her balance from the hit she received.

"Well, isn't that a surprise? Didn't see that one."

Shockwave was just regaining his balance from the attack he did on Autumn, but he's carrying a huge combat club in his hand.

No, it's not just a club. That's a Kanabo.

A kanabo was a weapon that the Samurai used before they switched over to their signature katana swords.

Kanabos are designed to break swords, crush armor, and shatter bone.

It resembles that of a baseball bat that's made heavily out of wood or entirely of iron. But unlike baseball bats where they're rounded all the way around, kanabos have multiple flat sides (up to eight) with spikes or studs on them, aside the handle.

But this particular Kanabo Shockwave's carrying right now, is different from those.

This one is energy infused. Whenever it makes contact with its target, it sets off an energetic shockwave, amplifying the damage inflicted. That is where Derrick got his nickname.

"What is it that you want here?"

Shockwave tightened the grip on his Kanabo.

"That's none of your concern…"

Autumn then charged right towards Shockwave, all eight legs ready to strike.

"!"

Shockwave took defensive measures with him putting his Kanabo up to deflect each arm that struck him.

Noticing that her attacks aren't getting through, some of her legs folded into cannon tips and began to charge up.

"Whoa!"

He held his Kanabo up at the last minute…

*Bphew!* *BOOM!*

"Shockwave!"

Smoke had kicked up and engulfed the both of them.

I can't see whether or not he made it out.

Then someone came out of one end of the smoke cloud.

It's Shockwave and he defensively have his Kanabo in hand.

And something seems to be on it…

*Mm-m-m-m-m-m-m-m*

A deep humming sound was coming from his Kanabo and it has what looks like a circular energy shield in front of it.

Even though he made it out, he's disoriented from the blast he took.

But what about the Autumn?

Where's Autumn?

The smoke began to clear, eight specks of light are shining through the smoke.

"Oh shit!"

Autumn changed her remaining blade-tipped legs into cannons, all of them aiming at Shockwave.

I got to do something.

Desperately, I looked around to see what I can use to help…

Aha!

"Fufu, say 'good bye'…"

Autumn's cannons are about to fire.

"Tch!"

Shockwave gritted his teeth…

"Shockwave!"

I threw a Claymore frag grenade right at Autumn right before she fired her cannons.

*DUHNN!*

*Bhpee-e-ew!*

It may not have damaged her IS, but Autumn was knocked off balanced from the grenade's blast to make her miss.

"Ugh, you again!"

She made a quick recovery and now she's aiming her cannons towards me.

Before she could charge her cannons again, I charged straight at her with both combat blades deployed.

"Kuku, you're such a kid, using a frontal assault like that… ha!"

I made a dive towards her and she shot out something like a rope from her fingers right at me.

"!"

The energy lump suddenly expanded forming a huge net, as soon as I began to dodge it.

"Gugh!"

I crashed on a pile of debris after receiving the hit.

"Huh!-? What's this?"

Before I figured exactly what hit me, it extended all over me like a web, and a few seconds later, it held me down.

"Hahahaha! How easier can this get? Mess with a spider and you'll get caught in her web."

Showing a chilling smile, Autumn approached me, who's struggling, with all eight of her legs back to their blade-tipped state.

"Well, it's time to have a little fun…"

She held two of her legs up to me, one next to my left cheek and the other pointed right at my chest, over where my heart is.

"I haven't done this to someone as young as you are in a while… Kyahahaha!"

She laid the tip of the blade's edge on my cheek.

"Consider yourself lucky.~"

*Kch*

"Uh!"

*Kch*

"Uh…"

"Uh~"

Mocking me as she cuts up my cheek, she stretched her long tongue out like a snake.

"!"

The flesh and moisture rubbing against the cuts she made sent a sharp chill up my spine.

"Oh. Not bad. Now…"

She then pointed all eight of her legs right at my chest.

"Let's get to the fun part before you die..."

I struggled to get out of her web, but it's no use, I'm completely strapped down.

"Kukuku…"

She then placed her blades on various places of my body. And then she slowly began to apply pressure on them.

"Not on my watch!"

"!"

Autumn then turned to see a piece of spiked iron coming right at her.

*Whoo-DUHN!*

The Kanabo barely missed her but not without stunning her a bit.

Noticing that, he took the chance of making a charge at her, ready to swing his Kanabo down from overhead.

Autumn turned around, and her legs attacked Shockwave.

"Not my little brother, you bitch!"

He slipped through in between them and swung his Kanabo down at her…

But then I noticed that there were only six armored legs that attacked him, which means…

"Derrick!"

*Krssch-ack!*

"!..."

"…"

"Ah? What exactly are you spouting?"

At this moment, the other two blade-tipped legs pierced clean through Shockwave's body.

Autumn then pulled one of the two legs out of Shockwave's body, with it covered in his blood.

She brought her remaining legs back as she held Shockwave up close to her face.

"Aw… And you're such a handsome one."

Autumn then began to grope his face.

*Spoot!*

Shockwave weakly looked at her and responded with a bloody spit to the face.

"Ugh! You males are all the same!"

Disgusted, she was about to fling him off of her leg but he dropped his Kanabo and he grabbed hold of the leg Autumn has him impaled with.

With his free hand, he pulled out multiple Claymore frag grenades and armed them.

"As I said; not… my little… brother… you BITCH!"

"Derrick! No!"

*BOOM-PHEE-EW!*

*BOOM-PHEE-EW!* *BOOM-PHEE-EW!* *BOOM-PHEE-EW!*

*BOOM-PHEE-EW!* *BOOM-PHEE-EW!*

Claymore grenades went off, but the explosions they made were different.

These ones went off in a blue energetic explosion as opposed to the shock and fiery explostion.

Multiple explosions caused the wall near them and a massive part of the ceiling above them to collapse on top of them.

After the dust settled from all of the chaos, the electrical web vanished.

I frantically tried to get up so I can get to the pile of rubble in a desperate attempt to get him out. But someone is trying to pick me up.

"Hot Shot!"

It was Scourge; he's trying to pick me up. But whenever he tries, I just collapse again.

"He's gone!"

I fell back down on my side.

"He's gone! There's nothing you can do!"

I tried to get up again, with Scourge, he's not really helping.

"Stop it!"

"Get off of me!"

Collapsing again, I tried to get Scourge to back off.

"Goddamn it! Let me get him out of there!"

I struggled to get back up again and trying to get Scourge off of me at the same time.

*BOOM-PHEE-EW!*

A small explosion went off from the side of the rubble pile, grabbing our attention and throwing small concrete flakes away from the pile.

"Hot Shot…"

"…"

…

If there's one thing that I've learned in these 5 years of being in Thunder Crash, it's that not everything will remain the same; especially when it comes to death.

Me, Eddie, Brian, Clay and Derrick have learned that throughout our lives we know that someone will die. It was all a matter of time and who will it be.

The only problem is we won't know when and who will it be, until it actually happens.

And this is no exception…

"Eric, come on, man. We have to go now. Ratchet and Hawkeye got the door open for us…"

…

"… Big Bro."

I weakly began to get myself up as if I'm struggling to carry a huge weight, while looking at Derrick's Kanabo, sticking out of the rubble pile.

* * *

><p>"Ha… ha... ha…"<p>

My eyes pooped opend looking at a metallic ceiling, heavily panting to find myself in the sleeping quarters of Tezla's Lab.

I looked around to notice that I'm the only one in the room.

The room itself is fairly lit and I noticed that the three other sleeping racks are empty.

Guess Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge are already up and about.

I got to join them for the rest of our training.

I got out of my rack and grabbed a change of clothes before heading to the showers to get all the sweat off I've build up overnight.

I can't really do much of what has happened back then.

But why am I kept on having these flashbacks?

"…"

Maybe Sideswipe's right; I need to get some help.

But the question is who can I go to?

I can't ask Tezla. He's got too much shit on his plate with the Silverbacks.

For the duration of washing all the sweat down, I kept on asking myself that same question.

* * *

><p><em><strong>8:45 AM, August 12, 2012. Tezla's Lab, Thunder Crash Base.<strong>_

Five weeks have passed since our second near encounter with the same group of ISes.

Since then, Tezla has had us done our training in his lab as a precaution.

All of us are in our Silverbacks, and to give you a rundown of what's happened, we've just been doing mobility training. But that's going to end today, so Tezla said.

As of today, we'll be doing weapons training.

"_Alright, you guys. Here are some of the Silverbacks tools of destruction."_

A weapons rack appeared on the side of the lab, displaying rifles, grenades and small hand guns that are made for the Silverbacks.

All of us went up to the rack to get a closer look at them.

But truth be told, they're similar to that of Thunder Crash's weapons.

Saber Assault Rifles, Desert Rangers and Smoke grenades.

But there is this one rifle that's different from the other.

It has a rather 'alien' look to it, with the barrel of the gun looking like a blue glow-stick in the middle with a cross-shaped tip and smaller rods at each end of the cross attaching to the main body of the gun itself.

As for the body itself, it looks as though that it's a cylinder that's been formed out of a sphere.

The handle is near the back end and the fore grip is under the gun and right at the end of the gun's main body, partially under the barrel.

And unlike your typical guns where the sights are on the top of the gun, this one's actually on the left side of the gun.

Other than that, the rest just look like that they're highly modified; mainly, the Saber Assault Rifle.

"Exactly how are these any different, Tezla?"

"_They may be the same weapons despite them looking a bit different, but they're overall different underneath. Take that Saber you're holding for example."_

The only difference I can obviously tell with this Saber is that instead of it being black, its gun metal grey.

As I'm looking over the Saber, Tezla was interacting with one of the holographic screens.

"_Now, you see that target up there?"_

A holographic target appeared near the end of the firing range.

"_Shoot the target with that Saber. Then you'll see the difference."_

I moved over to the firing station as everyone else watches from behind me.

I took a look at the target as I brought the Saber up and looked down the sights.

I'm guessing that it's about 10 meters (just about 33 Ft.) away.

Locked on to the target, I primed the Saber…

*Click* *Clack*

And to warn everyone that a gun is going to be firing…

"Going hot!"

""""…""""

Everyone's watching as I pulled the trigger.

*Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh!*

"What the hell?"

The shots I fired at the target weren't something I'd expected. Instead of them being the tracer rounds the Saber normally fires, the shots I've fired just now are blue energy shots.

And they didn't feel like your traditional rounds because there's hardly a recoil and no cases are being ejected from the other side of the gun.

I put the Saber down on the counter in front of me before I turned to Tezla.

"Tezla, what exactly did I shoot?"

"_That right there is plasma, Eric." _

Plasma? I thought he can only make small hand guns as plasma based weapons. Unless…

"_I've re-built the Saber from the ground up so it can provide the necessary firepower to take on an IS."_

Looking at the Saber I've put down, it's hard to believe that Tezla's able to make something like this in a short period of time.

He even told me that making new weapons normally takes years to make before they even make it to the testing phase.

This Saber, he probably must've been working on it at the same time with the Silverbacks.

"_That Saber's not only has been re-designed into a plasma based weapon, its damage capabilities far surpasses that of its conventional cousin you've been using in your active service."_

Ratchet then went to the weapons rack to get look at another Saber.

"_Huh, might as well dub the conventional version 'Retro Sabers'. You know, they've been the same for the last 20 years of Thunder Crash's active service and now it has a newer version that surpasses?"_

Yeah, yeah that would be a nice name for the conventional version, but that aside…

"Exactly how do we equip these on our Silverbacks? I don't see any straps that we can use to store it."

"_The same as your Thunder Crash armor with the magnetic weapon straps on the back. And just like the Thunder Crash armor, it can only hold two rifles, two side arms, and a handful of grenades."_

Didn't expect the weapon limit to be the same as before.

"_Only for the Beta Phase; when the Silverback gets out of the Beta Phase, the weapons limit ought to as well. But that depends on the wearer's preference. And knowing you guys, the weapon limit's going to change. For now, you have no choice but to stick with the current limit."_

"_And what is this weird looking rifle? It looks similar to the Bolt Rifle."_

Scourge picked up the alien looking rifle from the rack and took a look down the sights down range.

"_Ah yes. That weapon right there is one of the newest I've made. Designed not only to feel similar to the Bolt Rifle, but surpasses it. What you're holding there is the Shockburst; an energy based weapon firing powerful, and precise laser beams. And just like the Bolt Rifle, the Shockburst is a semi-automatic rifle."_

Tezla interacted with the holographic screen again, bringing up another target in the firing range.

"_If you're wondering how powerful this is, shoot that target down range, Clayton."_

Scourge took position at the firing station, aimed the Shockburst at the indicated target. This time it's a piece of steel.

From the looks of it, it's about 6 inches (little over 15 cm) thick.

"_Going hot!"_

He brought up the Shockburst up…

*Pephee-ew!*

The blue laser beam hit in the center of the target.

After taking the shot, the target Scourge shot was brought up to the firing station.

Tezla went up to it to show it.

"_Look at that, went clean through. And you won't believe this, but this piece of steel is actually a piece off of an M1 Abrams tank."_

"_And it went through it like a hot knife through butter."_

Scourge couldn't be helped but be impressed by the Shockburst, and Sideswipe as well.

But Ratchet on the other hand, seems to be having an issue…

"_That's great and all, but what about short range weapons, Doc?"_

"_Short range…"_

Upon hearing that, Tezla then went to the weapons rack.

"_Could've sworn that I had it up here…"_

What exactly is he looking for?

"_Aha! This ought to fit your needs, Brian."_

Tezla pulled out a gun with a massive barrel. Yet it seems that it doesn't fire any explosives, like grenades or rockets.

A short range weapon that Ratchet normally uses…

Shotguns!

What Tezla gave him is a Flak Cannon; a shotgun on steroids.

"_Oh yeah…" _

*Click Clack!*

"_This'll do."_

"_That Flak Cannon works the same as the conventional ones you've used. The only difference…"_

Brian immediately went to the firing station to fire it at a target down range.

Brought the Flak Cannon up…

"_Going hot!"_

*BAM!* *Click clack!*

*BAM!* *Click clack!*

*BAM!* *Click clack!*

"_The shells are covered in energy, allowing it to outperform its conventional version. And it can also launch grenades; canisters holding the same energy covered shells that'll burst everywhere on contact, or in mid-air, depending on the setting."_

Ratchet took a closer look at the Flak Cannon while ejecting the empty case out.

"_Can it also fire tactical grenades? Say, smoke grenades for example?"_

"_Yes, Brian. Any grenade that's designed for the Silverback can be launched from that Flak Cannon."_

Man, with all of these weapons being the Silverback versions of the weapons we've used during our active service, I don't really see the point in this weapons training.

We're already accustomed with them to begin with; it's just that they've been re-built for the Silverbacks.

"Tezla, you think that it's possible that we can use these without the Silverbacks?"

"_Theoretically, it's possible, Eric. But the cost would be the damage capabilities. They will not be as powerful without the Silverbacks. They would be no powerful than their conventional versions."_

"Well okay. But are there any other new weapons than the Shockburst? Cause I don't really feel that we need training with these weapons."

"_And that's exactly why I re-built the conventional versions for the Silverbacks, aside from the Shockburst. Normally it would take months, sometimes years to master a new weapon. But given the short time we have before the live demo, I couldn't make a new set of weapons. And besides, you guys are already accustomed to them."_

"And when is the demo?"

"_It will be on the 21st; a little over a week from now."_

A week at most? That sounds like that it's a while, but for training, it really isn't.

I took a look at Sidewipe, Ratchet and Scourge, who are now at the firing range, training with a weapon of their choice.

Sideswipe and Scourge with the new Shockburst, and Ratchet with his Flak Cannon.

"Well, I guess the next best thing would be…"

I picked up 2 Desert Rangers from the weapons rack.

"Is to brush up on the marksmanship."

"_Exactly."_

I walked towards the firing range to join everyone else.

We've had some run-ins with some of Phantom Task's soldiers, but that's the first time we've had actual combat since Thunder Crash's disbandment.

I primed both Desert Rangers, brought them up…

"Going hot!"

*PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA PA.*

And began the brush up that's been put off for far too long; looks like this is what the whole day, let alone until the demo, is going to be like.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span> We're coming near the end of the first storyarc. What do you guys think?

If you have any thoughts, or feedbacks, please write them as reviews. Remember, I use them as referances for future chapters.


	9. Phase 1-8

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to IS: Infinite Stratos or any content/references that're used. This Fanfic is made just for entertainment and not for commercial use in anyway.

Author's Note:

Be adviced; for this particular chapter, there's a slight spoiler for Vol. 7 of the IS Light Novels. It's an IS that makes its first appearance in that Vol.

* * *

><p><em><strong>7:52 PM, August 15 2021. Tezla's Lab, Thunder Crash Base.<strong>_

All of us were finishing our clean up in the firing range as our training sessions for the day are done. Usually the clean up process can take a while; mainly because of the round casings littered the whole range, but not with these weapons. These ones are energy and plasma based, and they don't need physical rounds and casings. Aside from Ratchet's energy incased Flak Shells.

"Alright, that's all of the data from today."

Tezla's analyzing the last but of data as we finished cleaning the firing range. But as he's analyzing the data, I noticed that he had a very concerned look in his eyes. And it's not just from today; he had it since those near encounters with those ISes back in early July.

"So, what do you guys want to do now?"

"All I want to do is just hit the showers and relax in the bath. Right now I smell even fouler than the air of a fitness center."

"Come on, man. That's adrenaline you smell. It's what gets you going in crazy situations."

"Hot Shot, are you joining us?"

Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge were heading on over to the shower room. I normally join them but after seeing that look on Tezla's face just now, I'll have to make this an exception.

"I'll hit the showers when you guys are done; right now, I got something else to do."

"Suit yourself, man."

Sideswipe then turned towards the shower room, following Ratchet and Scourge. They ought to be in the shower room for a while, which is good because this is something that I don't want them to hear.

It's not as if that I don't want them be part of it. It's that they already know what I've been going through.

And besides, with virtually non-stop training that we've been doing since we've began and him doing his work on the Silverbacks, I never found the time to talk to him. Now that we're done for the day, now should be the good time to talk.

As Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge are heading to the shower room, I went up to Tezla's desk as he's doing his work.

Since we've started this training, he looked as though that something's weighing heavily on his mind. And that's rare of him; I doubt that it has something to do with his work. No matter how much he has to do, he just keeps his professional front up. But right now, it seems that there's something going on with him.

Not only that, maybe he could help me with my current issues that I've been having lately. With these flashbacks I've been getting at least…

Even though I've said that he has too much on his plate, I don't think there's anyone I can go to right now for help.

"Tezla..."

"Yes, Eric?"

Tezla looked up, trying to put his professional front up.

"You okay?"

"I'm… doing just fine, Eric."

Tezla continued his work as he replied.

"I'm just a little tired, that's all."

I know that a shitload of work can be exhausting, with the live demo coming up soon. But he really doesn't look tired at all.

"Tezla, come on… You've helped me out when I had issues when Thunder Crash was in active service. So, what's going on?"

He then stopped doing his work and put his hands together, palms down on his desktop.

"Well?"

Letting out a sigh, he began to talk.

"It's you, Eric…"

"!..."

Me? Why is he concerned about me? Is that why he's been like that since we've started the training? All because of what's going on with me?

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Look, I don't know exactly what, but I feel that something's 'haunting you', so to speak."

Damn… Instead of asking him if he's having a problem, I should've gone up to him straight. Oh well, might as well spit it out.

"Well, you got one thing right."

I've pulled up a chair that was close by under a work bench and sat on it, resting both of my arms crossed on the backrest, and leaned on it.

"What do you think, Tezla?"

"I don't know for sure, unless if you tell."

Tezla then turned towards me, and the look on his face is still the same concerned look I spotted earlier, before I asked.

"And how long have you know?"

"Since we've met in Tokyo Tower. Remember that I asked you if you guys despise the current hierarchy with the IS in the picture? I sensed some hatred in your response."

"…"

"…"

Thinking back on that now, he's right...

The IS is what put women on top of the hierarchy over men in society, but even though I responded that way back then, it really wasn't towards women in general or the IS itself. When it was, it was before we were informed of who were the real culprits of that attack on the night of Thunder Crash's disbandment.

We thought it was the government who did it, with the Japan Self Defense Force. But when Tezla said that it was actually Phantom Task, who disguised themselves as the JSDF, we thought otherwise.

Yeah, Phantom Task…

They're the ones who kidnapped Tezla, but he managed to escape, the ones who deliberately killed our allies.

Deliberately killed Derrick…

"_Aw… And you're such a handsome one."_

"Tch…"

That woman…

Hearing the voice of that woman who killed Derrick in my head began to make my blood boil.

All of the anger that has built up in me began to seep out as I began to clench both of my fists. Right now, I just want to tear that bitch to shreds…

"Eric? Eric!"

"!..."

I shook my head to snap myself out, to see Tezla sitting down with his hands up and doing a gesture with them.

"Calm down…"

"…"

Now I remember why I wanted to talk to Tezla, to ask him for help.

"Sorry about that."

"Its okay, Eric."

Telza put both of his hands down before he continued speaking.

"Seeing you like that just now tells me that you're looking for vengeance. But not against the IS itself, but towards Phantom Task. And I can help you out on that."

"Which is why you made the Silverbacks?"

"Yes. But Eddie, Brian and Clayton; they know about this, too?"

"Yeah, they've know since the night of the attack."

Tezla then had the same look on his face he had earlier.

"I didn't ask them. And I've told them that they don't have to do this if they don't want to, but they decided to be part of it."

"Well, that's to be expected from developing a brotherhood with your squad, right?"

Throughout the time we've been together in Thunder Crash, we all gotten closer to one another. Till eventually, we became like brothers to each other.

Not only on the warzones, but off the warzones as well.

"Yeah. Yeah, Tezla, that's what normally happens."

"Which is why I've built 4 Silverbacks instead of 1."

The Silverbacks are a vital asset if we're going to go up against Phantom Task. But it brings me to one question…

"Tezla, exactly why are you unveiling the Silverbacks to the public? With the live demo coming up soon."

"It's to show the world of what the Silverbacks are capable of doing. The world has the right to know about this. And this kind of technology really isn't the kind that you can keep a secret. This is all just a step forward on getting to Phantom Task."

"You do know that these can cause a huge disruption in the balance of power, right?"

"Yes, that's been on my mind since I first started making the Silverbacks. But I have some things up my sleeve."

"Uh-huh."

So all in all, the main purpose of these Silverbacks is to help us in bringing down Phantom Task. But with it being like a Hybrid-IS for guys, something should be done with these if they were to actually surpass the IS.

"Tezla, if we're to bring down Phantom Task, can you do a favor?"

"Yeah, I can…"

I got up from my seat and approached Tezla, and whispered into his left ear.

"Yeah, if it were to come down to it, yes."

He nodded and there was no hesitation in his voice upon hearing the favor I've asked him.

"And I'll make sure that it'll get done right."

"Yeah, you do that…"

I nodded back at Tezla in an agreement as I started walking towards the shower room.

This whole thing basically started on the night of Thunder Crash's disbandment. We thought it was the government who launched that attack with the JSDF, and then vengeance came into mind. And I swore upon it with the help of Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge. But the only thing we could do is to lay low and start attending high school.

Since starting high school, the thought of vengeance slowly began to slip out of my mind. But then, Magnus dropped us a visit and gave us an encrypted disc that contains Tezla's message. And after listening to the message, we've met up with Tezla in Tokyo Tower for the first time since before Thunder Crash disbanded.

During that meeting in Tokyo Tower is where we're informed of the ones responsible for the attack on Thunder Crash's disbandment; Phantom Task. Since then, the desire for vengeance came back to me. As if a fire had been light up again. Now we know who to get our vengeance from.

After our meeting in Tokyo Tower, we fought our way through the ruined base to get the Silverbacks so Tezla can complete it. And since then, we've been doing our training to this day.

All of the things we've done until now have been going through my head as I stripped down and turned on the shower, with the whole room being empty.

As water rained down on me, the voice of a particular woman echoed in my head.

"Tch..."

Anger slowly builds up in me again as I grit my teeth and clenched my right fist.

"_Let's get to the fun part before you die…"_

*THUD!*

I slammed my fist against the shower wall out of hate towards that woman.

Autumn…

"…"

Reiko "Autumn" Makigami… That bitch will get what she deserves… I'll make sure of it.

Even if it kills me…

* * *

><p><em><strong>11:57 AM, August 17 2021. Ishiyama High, Odaiba, Japan.<strong>_

Late morning fills the air over the high school campus, which sports an all-male student body.

Right now, it's summer vacation and the campus is normally empty around this time.

The only exception to having students on campus is remedial class.

"So, what are you going to do after class?"

"I'm probably just going to study; you know how my parents are."

The students are currently on their lunch break, chatting away as if they're on a regular school day.

"You really think that 'Silverback' as they called it can match up to an IS?"

"Just from the looks of it, I'll say no."

A small group of students are on the rooftop of the west building, just blowing off some steam they've got from the lessons they've received.

"They said that they're going to broadcast a live demo for it in a few days. How are they going to do that?"

"It could possibly be a fight with an IS."

"Yeah, as if IS Academy will send one of their ISes for something like that."

"If they actually did, I wouldn't be surprised if it won't last more than a second."

"With the IS being the victor, of course."

One of the students looked up towards the sky that's partly cloudy.

"Yeah, and for the rest of our lives, it'll be female supremacy..."

* * *

><p>While the students are having their chatter, unaware to them was an IS high up in the sky, observing them.<p>

The IS has a blue-grey color to it with black on various ends on its parts and gold on the accents of the legs and side skirts with broad looking wing thrusters and shoulders that gives it the impression that it's heavy weaponry.

Flashing on its visor is a holographic time display, beeping while flashing the time _**[1200]**_

*Zhn-n* *Ti* *Ti*

Scanning the whole campus, the IS's combat systems quickly determined its first target on the campus.

The IS slowly slid open its wing thrusters and shoulders while its visor's targeting system locks on a moderate size shed.

Switching to infrared, the drone notices the shed that it's locked on is dispersing heat via cables connected to the rest of the buildings on the campus. The IS assumed the shed its initial target, marking it for its weapon system.

*DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON!*

Multiple missiles burst out of the IS's wing thrusters and shoulders, rushing towards their target.

The missiles came down roaring, just flying over the track and field of the campus.

*BOOM!*

The first missile blew the shed, soon the others followed, completely obliterating the shed.

The sudden thunderous noise startled the students on the campus.

"Whoa!"

"What in the!-?..."

The students on the rooftop quickly went up to the side rail, to see fiery debris from the shed littering the field.

"What the hell's going here!-?"

"I don't know, but it isn't good. We got to let a—!"

One of the students saw the IS hovering just above the residential area around the school.

"Up there!"

The student pointed out towards the IS, which is now launching a small barrage of missiles.

"Let's get out of here!"

One of the students urged the group as he began to bolt towards the stairway to get back inside the school's west building, with the missiles heading their way.

The missiles barley missed the rooftop the students were on and hit the school's gymnasium, causing the roof to collapse.

As the roof collapsed, the IS flew over to the gymnasium and scanned it.

* * *

><p>Fire alarms are blaring throughout the campus, alerting the students and faculty to evacuate.<p>

"Damn it, power's out!"

The students were running down the stairs to evacuate.

"How are the fire alarms going off with the power out?"

"These must have its own power source."

"We can worry about that later, but what the hell's an IS doing here?"

"How are we supposed to know!-?"

"Come on, where are the other students?"

"They should be out of here by now, so let's get out of here!"

"I can't! I'm the student council president; I'm responsible for what happens to the students."

Realizing what he said, the group then had a serious look on their face.

"Come on, I need your help guys."

Noticing the fierce look on his face, they all gave a nod, waiting for their instructions.

"Alright, we just have to look for any students who're left behind. Let's split up into pairs, we can cover more ground that way."

"""Right!"""

"Be sure to thoroughly search each room, let's move!"

* * *

><p>After searching the whole building, the group met at the foot of the stairs on the first floor.<p>

"Are they all who you've found?"

A pair of students was leading another group of 5 students as they met up with the Student Council President.

"Yeah, this is all of them."

"Alright then, let's get them out!"

"Wait, what about the main and south buildings?"

"For Summer classes, only the west building's used. So the main and south buildings should be empty."

*BOOM!*

Rushing through the dark hallways, a tremor coursed through the building.

"""Ugh!"""

"Get down!"

Everyone squatted down to the ground to prevent from getting an injury from falling.

*Krck…* *Clang.*

A florescent light shade fell from one of its ends from the ceiling and hung above the students by its wires.

Once the tremor stopped, the Student Council president gave the go ahead to keep going.

"Go!"

Without hesitation, the students bolt through the hallway and they've reached the central court yard, bolting towards the main building.

"Where'd it go?"

"Last time I saw it, it was heading towards the gymnasium."

"That was about 20 minutes ago; you guys have any idea on where it went?"

"I don't know, prez. It could be anywhere by now."

*DON!*

"Watch out!"

Just as they mentioned the IS, it's on the south building and launched a missile at them.

*BOOM!*

The missile hits the walkway's cover, causing it to collapse on them…

* * *

><p><em><strong>11:57 AM, August 17, 2012. Tezla's Lab, Thunder Crash Base.<strong>_

"We've got a situation here guys."

All of us are looking at a holographic screen floating in the center of the lab.

"A few minutes ago, I've received a satellite feed about an IS going rogue from a testing facility up north."

Hearing Tezla's sudden explaination, Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge are looking serious.

An IS going rouge? And how exactly does this affect us?

"After receiving that feed, I've tracked down that IS down to Odaiba."

"What does this have to do with us? Isn't IS Academy suppose handle it?"

"While I was keeping track of the IS, I picked up multiple signals from IS Academy, Eddie. Supposedly these are ISes that were dispatched to deal with the situation."

"And what happened to them?"

"They were downed…"

"Wow, that's a first."

Ratchet bluntly jumped into the conversation.

"So much for IS Academy being the place for the elite of the elite."

Tezla then zoomed in the live video feed of Odaiba to see the rogue IS's activities.

What the video feed's giving us is something that we didn't expect.

"The IS has begun to attack Ishiyama High."

"What!-? Why the hell is it attacking a school that isn't even associated with the IS?"

Sideswipe burst out in slight anger.

I'm a bit ticked at this as well.

"And an all-boys school I might add."

"I don't know why. But seeing as IS Academy had failed to stop it…"

Tezla paused mid-sentence.

"Come on, out with it."

Scourge, as well as all of us, are getting anxious as to what he's about to say next.

"I think you should be the ones to stop it…"

"…"

"..."

The whole room fell into tense silence after Tezla finished his sentence. We have to go face to face with an IS sooner or later, particularly from Phantom Task, but sooner?

"…"

"Doc…"

Ratchet broke the silence.

"You happen to have any intel on that IS?"

"I don't have much on it, Brian. This is the first time I've seen that IS. But…"

Tezla went into thought while looking at the live video feed.

"All I know that it's most likely to be a long range IS; with its weapons being missile pods on its wing thrusters and shoulders. As for a melee weapon, that's unknown."

"So the best way to take it down is in melee combat, huh?"

"That's if it doesn't have a melee weapon, Clayton."

"And the only way to find out is to face it in combat."

"Right, Eric."

Tezla backed away from the holographic screen and went to one of his computer consoles.

"Alright, I know that the live demo's in 4 days, but given the situation; why not bump it up?"

As soon as Tezla asked, another holographic screen came up.

"This is the live broadcast from NHK News. If it's on the NHK News, it's most likely on the other major news networks around the world."

Since the IS has been introduced, the whole world has practically revolved around it. It wouldn't really be a huge surprise if it actually is being broadcasted around the world.

"…"

I tightened my fist at the damages the IS is causing to the high school.

Since its holding remedial lessons there, students are bound to be there.

And they're bound to get caught in the IS's crosshair.

I've seen too many people get killed by an IS…

The last person I've witnessed getting killed by one, was my Big Bro…

"Tezla…"

I've asked a big question.

"Are the Silverbacks ready?"

Tezla had real a serious look on his face.

So did Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge.

"Yeah…"

*Da-duh* *Ps-s-s-s-s-s-sh…*

A door on the side of the lab opened and coming out of it are the 4 Silverbacks in the Seiza position, carried on a platform.

*Dah.*

All 4 of us went up our Silverbacks…

"You guys ready?"

"No, man."

Sideswipe had replied in a serious tone.

"Question is, are _**you**_ ready... Captain?"

I looked at Sideswipe, then Ratchet, and then Scourge…

All of us understand how serious this is.

"You know it…"

Sideswipe gave me a sharp nod.

After seeing this, I turned to Tezla with a sharp look.

Noticing it, he gave me a sharp nod and activated the Silverbacks.

Sounds of metal folding echoed out as the Silverbacks began to rise up from their Seiza sitting position with blue neon lighting on their linings/accents flickering on and off at the same time.

Once in full standing position, they set their arms off from their sides and legs shoulder width apart.

With their lights fully on, they've open up from the back.

"Alright, armor up and load up!"

All of us slipped into the Silverbacks, and after incasing us, the Silverbacks are fully activated.

After the Silverbacks are active, all of us got up to the weapons rack to equip our weapons.

The only weapons available for use right now are the Desert Ranger, Saber Assualt Rifle, Shockburst, and Concussion grenades.

Sideswipe, Scourge and I are using the Sabers, and Shockbursts.

I especially equipped mine with 2 Desert Rangers.

Ratchet on the other hand took a Saber and his Flak Cannon.

As for the Concussion grenades, we have them as well.

Now, I feel that that I'm missing something; one thing that I can use for Melee combat…

And they're mounted on both of my forearms…

*Shee-ew!* *Shee-ew!*

Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge stepped back a bit.

I looked at both of my forearms and they both have a combat blade deployed on each of them.

"_Well well, that's certainly interesting."_

Tezla was observing what just happened.

"_It seems that your Silverback is getting an understanding of you, Eric."_

I took a closer look at the blades I just got; they look exactly the same as the ones on my Thunder Crash armor.

So this is what Tezla means by being one with your Silverback.

"_Theoretically, understanding the wearer's preferred weapons and fighting style normally occurs after being used in combat for the first time. And actually 'providing' the melee weapons is not to occur until it gets out of the Beta Phase."_

Interesting is right, cause since we've started our training, all of our Silverbacks have been in the Beta Phase. They won't be any more after this encounter with the IS.

Speaking of which…

I looked at Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge, noticing that they have their weapons ready and equipped.

"_Hold on guys, there are some last few things I need to explain to you. First is the energy shield; _r_emember that there's an energy shield around your Silverbacks. If you look at your visors, you'll notice that there's nothing on it, even though you're weapons are equipped; no meters, gauges or indicators. The reason for this is so that they won't distract you or obscure your vision."_

"_Then how the hell can we tell if our energy shields are running low?"_

"_When you take damage; the more damage you take, the more color your vision looses and the more blur it becomes. But if it doesn't gain any more damage after a short time, the Silverback Spark will fully regenerate the energy shield and the vision will be fully restored. However, if it takes constant damage and your visions all grey and blurred, that means your energy shield's about to break."_

I took a quick look at our Silverbacks before asking.

"And what happens if the energy shield breaks?"

"_A huge 3-way crack will appear across the visor and the vision will slowly turn from grey to a red hue; indicating that the shield's been broken and the Silverback Spark will shutdown all functions, and will concentrate on restoring the energy shield. While doing so, the combat armor will remain down, but not out. You can do two things; let the Silverback Spark restore the energy shield itself, or pick each other up."_

"_Pick each other up? How does that restore our energy shields?" _

"_If you pick up a Silverback that's down, the Spark in your Silverback will generate extra energy and it'll transfer it to the Spark of the downed Silverback, and the downed Silverback will use that extra energy to restore its energy shield and its back in the fight."_

Interesting, I heard that ISes automatically shutdown the moment it's energy shield's depleted.

But that doesn't really seem to be the case with these Silverbacks.

"_Even though the energy shield's restored, a crack will be on your visor to indicate that the energy shield's been broken once. Two cracks to show that it's been broken twice. However, those cracks are not real, they're just there as indications."_

"And what will happen if it breaks the third time?"

"_The Silverback will shutdown altogether. But the armor will remain out to protect the wearer. It may not look like it, but the Silverbacks armor far surpasses that of the IS. But as for the energy shields, the IS beats the Silverback."_

"_So Doc, the energy shield is weaker on the Silverbacks. But to compensate for it, it can regenerate and restore. It can regenerate an infinite amount of times as long as the shield doesn't break."_

Ratchet was basically getting the overall workings of the energy shield.

"_So technically, the Silverback can rejoin the fight after getting its shield restored twice. As opposed to the IS where if its energy shield's depleted, it's out of the fight."_

"And to even add more compensation, you've made the armor on the Silverback stronger than the IS's."

With me finishing Ratchet's 'overview', Tezla responded…

"_You guys basically got it."_

I looked back at Tezla and noticed him typing something on his computer console.

A few seconds later, a small window opened up next to the weapons rack and 2 small cyan colored canisters and a red discus-shaped patch on the rack.

"_Those tactical devices there will help you on fighting that IS, and when you have to get out after dealing with it."_

I picked up the 2 cyan canisters to have a better look at those.

"_Those 2 cyan canisters are cryo grenades. Those grenades don't freeze anything when they go off, but they're perfect against infrared vision."_

"Exactly how?"

"_When they go off, they immediately drop the surrounding air to freezing temperature (32 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0 degrees Celsius). If you're anywhere in that area, you'll be invisible to any infrared vision; conventional or IS."_

Sideswipe picked up the red discus-shaped patch with a keen look on his face.

"_And what exactly is this?"_

"_That's what I call an IO Charge."_

"_IO Charge?"_

"_Inertia Override Charge."_

I don't know much about that. Ratchet, maybe. But for sure Tezla must know.

"_When I was working on Phantom Task's ISes, one of the things I've learned is that all ISes have something called a PIC; Passive Inertia Control. It's what allows an IS to fly and perform extreme agility and mobility without its pilot being affected by gravity induced redouts and blackouts."_

"And the reason why you're providing this for us is because…"

"_These Silverbacks can't fly as of now. The best possible chance of you to bring down the rogue IS is to plant that on her. When it goes off, it'll override and shut down the PIC."_

"_Clipping the bird's wings with that, huh? Nice."_

ISes are extremely fast and agile for their size, and of course, can fly. But despite those factors, there's one person who has the best shot out of all of us who can plant that charge on the IS.

"Sideswipe, you are to plant that charge on that IS."

"_If you say so."_

Sideswipe equipped the IO Charge, placing it on the right side of his lower back.

"_There's something that you should know about that IS…"_

Tezla is still typing on his computer console, and a display screen appeared on the visors of our Silverbacks.

"_That rogue IS is an unmanned drone. There's no pilot in it, so you don't have to worry about holding back."_

"Good to know."

That's a good piece of Intel to have about that IS, it means that we don't have to worry about the safety of the IS's pilot. But then again, what pilot does it have if it's an unmanned drone?

It seems that we're ready, but to make sure…

"Are you guys good? Sideswipe?"

"_Good to go."_

"Ratchet?"

"_Ready…"_

"Scourge?"

"_Armed and ready…"_

Even though we have the Intel we need, and equipped, there's one thing that we've overlooked.

"_Anybody know how are we getting to Odaiba? You know that its 2 hours away from here, right?"_

"_Chill, Eddie. I've got something that'll get you there in an instant…"_

At the other end of the lab, a large pedestal rose up from the ground with 4 pillars around it and an overhead lowering above the pedestal.

"_What is that, Doc?"_

"_You can call it a teleportation device, Brian. That's how you're going to Odaiba."_

I've seen Tezla use something this once every now and then topside to send emergency supplies to our fellow mercenaries.

Obviously, I've never seen him teleport live human beings.

But there's a first time for everything.

All 4 of us rushed to the pedestal, but Ratchet appears to be a little 'antsy' about this.

"_Hot Shot, I'm not too sure about this."_

I can't really blame him for being nervous right now. But now's not the time to worry about it.

"We got no choice, Ratchet."

All of us are on the pedestal, waiting for Tezla.

"Fire it up, Tezla."

After a few hits on the keyboard, a deep humming sound filled the air of the lab as holographic panels began to float and circle us at the boundaries of the pedestal.

"_And one more thing; since this problem involves an IS, IS Academy will most likely send out more ISes to stop the rogue." _

"Aren't we technically helping them?"

"_We are helping them technically, but will they see it that way as well? Anyway, try to stop that rogue IS and get out before IS Academy gets there."_

"Copy that."

"_Alright, keep all body parts away from the panels. Good hunting, Alpha."_

The speed of the panels circling us increased with every passing second.

*Pzzt* *Pzzt*

Electrical arcs are coursing across the space we're in, sometimes hitting us and surprisingly, they're harmless.

Soon a gravitational pull began to pull all 4 of us towards the center.

"_Oh shit!"_

"_We're not going to make it!"_

"_Here we go!"_

The pull's getting stronger and stronger, and soon we're getting sucked into a small vortex.

*Pzzt**Pzzt* *Pzzt*

*Vrr-r-r-r-r-r-VOOM!..*

In an instant, we've been pulled into the vortex.

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:12 PM, August 17, 2021. Venus Fort Shopping Mall, Odaiba, Japan.<strong>_

Sirens echoed throughout the air as people are evacuating in an orderly fashion.

In a parking lot on the opposite side of the shopping mall, abandoned cars littered the lot as the summer breeze blows on through; like the whole place is a ghost town.

*Pzzt*

*Pzzt* *Pzzt*

Electricity began arcing in the middle of the lot, disrupting the parking lot's empty silence.

*Pzzt* *Pzzt!*

*Vr-r-r-r-r-r*

A deep 'humming' began to sound through the lot as electricity continues to arc faster and faster, creating a mini lightning storm.

*R-r-r-r-VOOM!*

**Klunk.* *Klunk**

*Klunk!*

*Klunk.* *Klunk.* *Klunk…*

A thunderous sound echoed through the air and the lightning storm dissipated soon afterwards. When its all clear, in the center of it were 4 suits of silver colored and blue neon light armor; lying completely motionless in the middle of the parking lot.

A few seconds later, they all began to slowly move and recover from what has happened.

* * *

><p>"Uh…"<p>

That 'trip' left a slight churning feeling in my gut. Now I know what getting squashed into a tiny box feels like.

"Ah…"

I slowly began to sit up as I check if my brothers are still with me.

""_Ugh…""_

Sideswipe and Ratchet were just coming around and Scourge lying on his back, struggling to get up.

"Oh, man. Everybody in one piece?"

Sideswipe and Ratchet slowly began to get on their feet and Scourge still appears to be affected.

"_Uh... I'll get back to you on that…"_

I got up and checked the status on my Silverback and everyone's.

Even though we've gotten banged up from that 'trip', our Silverbacks are okay.

"Come on, Scourge. Up and at'em."

I picked Scourge up as Sideswipe and Ratchet seemed to have fully recovered and looking at the surrounding area.

"_Where did Tezla sent us?"_

"_Venus Fort, Sideswipe."_

"_He could've sent us directly to Ishiyama High."_

"If Tezla would've sent us directly to Ishiyama High with the IS attacking, it might look like that we're there to assist it instead of stopping it. Tezla, come in. Tezla, come in."

"…"

"Ah, shit. Ratchet, how do we look on long-range radio?"

"_We're looking like shit on it right now, must've been damaged on the way here. Now we're limited to short-range."_

"Great, there goes our communications with Tezla."

If we had Hawkeye with us, then this wouldn't be a problem. He's equipped with a radio uplink to relay long-range radio signals to and from Tezla.

Freakin terrific time for him to be out…

But that aside, there are some other things I need to check…

_**[Saber Assault Rifle: Online]**_

_**[Shockburst: Online]**_

_**[Desert Ranger (x2): Online]**_

_**[Concussion Grenades: Online]**_

_**[Cryo Grenades: Online]**_

_**[Forearm Blades: Online]**_

_**[All Weapons: Nominal]**_

The feed I got on the visor at least showed me that something's going right…

I looked back at my bros to see that they're all checking their weapons.

Just like me, they want to make sure everything's functioning properly.

"Alright, since we're at Venus Fort, we ought to be about 3 Kilometers (1.8 Miles) southwest of Ishiyama."

"_Yeah, and I can see the IS causing a lot of havoc from up here."_

Sideswipe, clinging on the wall above the shopping mall's sign, is looking off towards the high school's direction.

"And that's our signal to get moving. Sideswipe, you take the roof tops; keeps us posted on the IS's activities."

"_Right!"_

Sideswipe climbed up to the roof top and went ahead towards high school.

Time for us to get going.

"Ratchet, Scourge you're with me."

We began to make our way out of the parking lot and onto the streets.

This street we're taking has a train line in the center and it goes to a station that's just a 5 minute walk away from Ishiyama High's Dormitories.

This'll make it faster to get to the high school.

"We'll follow the train tracks. Let's move!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:16 PM, August 17 2021. Ishiyama High, Odaiba, Japan.<strong>_

The rogue IS rose from the gymnasium and began to scan the campus for its next target.

Unable to find one, she began to circle around the whole campus; getting a better view to scan for another target.

Scanning the west building, she picked up multiple life signs coming from inside the building.

Her wing thrusters slid open as its targeting system marked the targets.

*DON DON DON!*

3 missiles were launched, tracking down their targets down like a pack of wolves.

*BOOM!*

All 3 missiles hit the rooftop simultaneously, rocking the whole building.

* * *

><p>Sprinting through the suburban streets, just outside of the school area, we can hear the damage the IS just did to the high school.<p>

Hope the students got out of the whole mess.

"_Hot Shot, it seems the whole area's been evacuated. If you got a plan, now's the time to let us in."_

Ratchet began to get his Saber ready as we're getting closer and closer to the campus.

Okay, with Sideswipe having the IO Charge, he can't go on and attack it alone; even if he manages to get close enough.

He's going to need some help on planting it on the IS if we're to stop it.

Tezla said that the IO Charge can override the IS's PIC system and shut it down; disabling its main source of flight. Basically, this whole fight depends on it; seeing as how the Silverbacks in their current state can't fly.

Scourge was getting his Shockburst ready as well and Sideswipe's off somewhere close by.

"Okay…"

I pulled out my Shockburst.

"Here's the plan; Scourge, you and I are going in and grab that IS's attention. Ratchet, stay back and provide support. Sideswipe, while we got her attention, you're to jump it and plant that IO Charge. Once it goes off, we're to bring that bitch down by any means necessary. Got it?"

"_Got it."_

"_Whatever you say, Boss Man."_

"_You got it."_

Ratchet, Scourge and I got off of the street and entered a small ally way, this is a shortcut that some of the students use in case if they're running late.

According to them, this'll lead to the campus's track and field.

But blocking our way is a fence that separates the residential area and the campus.

"Huh!"

We've all launched ourselves up and over the fence and onto the track and field.

"_Oh, shit! There goes the power shed."_

Ratchet had noticed that upon getting onto the campus grounds, fiery debris littered the field that lead back to where the school's power source once stood.

As we're making our way to the school buildings, Sideswipe contacted me through the radio comm.

"_Hot Shot, I'm picking up multiple life signs coming from the west building."_

"_Oh, great. Just great! We got stragglers thrown into the mix."_

As if things can get any better; thanks with remedial lessons going on this summer, now we got some left behind students to evac.

"Alright, slight change in plans."

I reluctantly put my Shockburst away.

"Sideswipe, you hold back. Ratchet, Scourge we're to get the students out to safety. Come on, move!"

We've cleared passed the track and field and reached the south building.

As we got to the south building, my visor began picking up multiple life signs close by. They got to be the students Sideswipe picked up earlier.

"_Hot Shot, the students in the central courtyard."_

Ratchet readied his Saber in case if the IS comes in.

"Then let's get in there."

Whipping around the corner and entering the court yard from the southwest, we've spotted the students, bolting towards the main building.

6, 7, 8—9 of them to be exact.

*DON!*

Upon seeing them a sound boomed through the air, coming from the top of the south building.

"Ah, shit!"

A missile is flying down towards the students.

"Ratchet, Scourge!"

We all made a mad sprint to the students, as the missile got closer and closer.

Shit! Come on, faster, faster!

*BOOM!*

The missile hit the concrete overhead that's covering the walkway, right above the students.

Upon impact, all the students squatted down covering their heads with their arms as the overhead began to collapse from the hit it took.

With a slight bit of space in between the students and the collapsing overhead…

*DUHD!* "Du-ugh!"

*DUHD!*

*DUHD!*

At this moment, Ratchet, Scourge and I caught the falling overhead, narrowly saving the students.

"Ugh… agh!" *Duhd!* *Duhd*

"_Hu-ah!" _*Duhd!* *Duhd*

"_Shr-rgh…" _*Duhd!* *Duhd*

As we threw the overhead pieces aside the students slowly got up, looking appalled at what saved them.

But one particular student's attempting to keep a front.

"_Thanks. I thought it was over…"_

The other students were brushing the dust off that got on them. But this particular student who's thanking me is the student council president. Better alter the com's voice tone…

"You're welcome. Now get your asses out of here, this entire campus is becoming a small warzone."

*DUHN!*

""""Ugh!""""

The students collapsed on the ground from the thunderous tremor, and a huge cloud of dust was picked up beside us.

Through the dust, my visor recognized what's in the middle of it all.

*Klunk! *Klunk.*

"Shit!"

It's the rogue IS. Instinctively, Scourge and I pulled out our Sabers and Ratchet with his Flak Cannon, taking aim at her.

"Go on! Get the fuck out of here!"

The students then began to take off towards the main building and soon, off of the campus.

Now with the students out of the way, we can focus on our main objective; and it's to stop that IS.

But with us being in the central court yard, all of the madness and chaos is going to ensure in here and the surrounding buildings are going to contain it.

It may sound good, but it's not; because the damages are going to be on the school buildings.

And we're here to stop the IS from doing more damage to the school.

"She has already caused enough damage to the school, we have get her out to the track and field!"

We all began to fire in short bursts on the IS to grab her attention, the best thing to do is to get her out on open ground and then we can take her down.

As we're firing, she began to fire up her wing thrusters.

Next, she began to ascend; flying in closer on us.

"Go, go, go!"

We bolted out of the central court yard with the IS continuing it's ascend.

"Sideswipe, you still got the IO Charge?"

"_I still have it and I'm right by the main building on the campus."_

"Well hold back and wait for the right opportunity to jump it."

*DON DON DON DON DON!*

Missiles were launched as she hovers above the ground when we got to the track and field.

But they're not heading towards the school buildings; they're heading for us.

"Tch…"

I brought up my Saber and took aim at the missiles in an attempt to shoot them down.

"_Get down, Hot Shot!"_

"?"

Ratchet launched a canister right out of his Flak Cannon.

*Beephew!*

"Uh!"

An ear piercing sound rang through my ears as I dove down.

The missiles were sent into disarray and set off in mid air.

I got back up as the IS was about to launch another barrage of missiles at us.

"_Okay, we got her out of the court yard, now what?"_

Ratchet switched to his Saber.

"Now we keep her attention on us long enough for Sideswipe to get the jump on her."

*Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh!*

Firing my Saber at the IS, Ratchet began to fall back a bit while Scourge began to fire his Shockburst at it.

"With the her hyper sensors, we need to make sure that she remains fixated on us for Sideswipe."

*DON DON DON DON DON!*

Another barrage of missiles was launched.

"We're an easy target with us all bunched up like this, split up!"

To dodge the oncoming missiles, Ratchet backed off and Scourge dove above the missiles, towards the IS.

I dove right, just in time before the missiles impact the ground.

*Pephee-ew!* *Pephee-ew!* *Pephee-ew!*

"_Damn, this is one tough ass bitch!"_

Scourge hit the IS square in the chest, knocking it back a bit.

The IS took a few steps back to recover from the shots it took. I don't know how much damage those shots did to it but they sure got her disoriented for a bit.

"Ratchet, have you got any way we can get around her attacks?"

"_I'm working on it, get off of my back!"_

The IS launched another barrage of missiles towards Scourge.

"Goddamn! How many missiles does this bitch have!-?"

I fired my Saber to shoot down the missiles before they reached Scourge, and he's doing the same thing as well.

"_Oh, shit!"_

Some of the missiles passed through our counter fire, making Scourge dodge them.

Despite his huge size, he's fast and agile; dodging each missile coming in left, right, forward, and back.

"!"

One remaining missile flew towards Scourge from his right side, but it also happens to be his blind spot right now.

I immediately pulled out one of my Desert Rangers on instinct…

*PA!*

*BOOM!*

"_Ba-agh!"_

"Scourge!"

The missile detonated prematurely after getting hit by the shot, right next to Scourge and the smoke covered him.

But then he jumped out of the small smoke cloud, but he didn't get out of it unscathed.

It looks like that a layer on his Silverback's armor is about to break, with it looking as though it's cracked glass. This whole pattern's all over his armor.

"You okay, Scourge?"

"_Yeah, it's just that the vision on my visor lost some color and a bit blurred."_

Tezla told us that the more damage the Silverback's energy shield takes, the more blur and color loss our vision becomes on the visors. But if the energy shield stops taking damage, the energy shield will regenerate and the vision on the visors will restore itself, thus indicating that the energy shield's fully regenerated.

And it seems that he left one thing out about the energy shield; the damage on the energy shield itself. I'm guessing it's a sign telling us the status of another's Silverback's energy shield.

Even though Scourge's Silverback's energy shield's about to break, the IS didn't follow up with another attack to break his energy shield and down him. Unless if she can't see it…

Maybe the only way you can see the damage on the Silverback's energy shield is through the Silverback's visor.

Looking at Scourge's Silverback, the cracked patterns that are all over it are slowly vanishing until there isn't a single crack on his armor. This could mean one thing…

"_Oh yeah, I'm back in the fight!"_

Scourge's energy shield has fully regenerated and now he's re-engaging the IS, but she began to ascend to avoid the oncoming fire.

"We can't let her take to the skies! Get some concussions up there!"

These concussion grenades are basically stun grenades, but more. It has the effects of a flash bang, can emit electrical jamming waves, and it also can burst a cloud of smoke out at the moment of detonation.

The IS was ascending close to the south building of the campus as we hurled some concussion grenades at it.

But as we threw the grenades, she launched a small group of missiles.

"Look out!"

Scourge dove back and I dove right to avoid the missiles.

A stray missile flew above and went right towards Ratchet.

"_Tch.."_

Ratchet aimed his Flak Cannon after getting a bit of distance.

*BAM!* *Click* *Clack*

*BOOM!*

The flak shells he fired shot the missile down as the smoke cloud barely reaching him.

"_Uh…"_

"Ratchet, you okay?"

"_Yeah, this is getting fun…"_

*Beephew!*

An ear piercing sound ringed throughout the campus, coming from above next to the south building.

We all looked up to see a puff of white smoke was next to the IS, with her looking a bit disoriented.

*Beephew!* *Beephew!*

The other two concussion grenades went off, one in front, and the other in between the IS and the south building.

With multiple grenades going off, she's been engulfed in the cloud of smoke.

But the IS emerged out shortly after, still a bit disoriented.

I dashed right to flank the IS's leftt side, Saber in hand, about to take aim at her.

But as I was about to shoot, I spotted a silver figure scaling the side of the south building like a ninja behind her.

There's only one person here who has tendencies of doing things like this…

"Sideswipe!"

And as he came close to the IS, he leapt off of the building, grabbed hold of her right arm, swung up and flung himself over her like a gymnast.

"_Ha! Come on, Infinite __**Skank**__!"_

*PAM!* *PAM!*

Sideswipe smacked the IS's head twice as he got on her back, following up with attacking her wing thrusters.

*Mrr-rr* *Tink*

The IS immediately reached for her back, got a hold of Sideswipe, and threw him down.

*Klunk!* _"Ugh!"_

Sideswipe was thrown to the base of the south building, causing a massive hole in the wall.

"Sideswipe! You okay?"

"_I'm fine… uh."_

She was about to launch some missiles where Sideswipe crashed.

*Pephee-ew!* *Pephee-ew!*

Scourge fired his Shockburst at the IS to get her attention.

"How's the IO Charge?"

I couldn't tell if he managed to plant the charge on her, seeing that she's still airborne and aiming towards Scourge.

*Pzzt*

"?"

A small electrical arc coursed through her.

"_About that…"_

*Pzzt* *Pzzt*

"_It's planted."_

***Pzz-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-zt!***

Multiple arcs of electricity are coursing in and out of the IS as she fell.

*DUHN!*

The IS didn't collapse upon impacting the ground, but she wasn't hovering like it was before and electrical arcs are still coursing through her.

"Hold your fire..."

Electricity stopped coursing through her as Ratchet and Scourge are about to fire from a small distance.

*DON DON DON DON DON!*

"!"

Great, more of those damn things!-? She's going to wreck the whole track and field if she keeps this up.

I threw another concussion grenade at the cluster of missiles.

"_Whoa!"_

Seeing the grenade cut in front of the missiles, Scourge made a huge dive back away from the explosives.

*Beephew!*

The missiles all went off prematurely in mid-air and no damage has been done to the field.

*Pephee-ew!* *Pephee-ew!*

*Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh!*

Ratchet and Scourge re-engaged the IS, hitting her multiple times.

*Shee-ew!* *Shee-ew!*

Seeing that she's occupied on them, I sprint towards her with both of my combat blades deployed.

The IS stepped back a bit from the hits she received, but as she was doing that Sideswipe dashed out of the south building from her right side and slid in front of her like a baseball player sliding into base, firing his Saber.

*Pher Pher Pher Pher Pher!*

Multiple shots hit her head, disorienting her in the process.

As I got up to the IS on her left side, I launched myself up, crossed my arms, performed multiple twist flips as I got high above her...

*Clash!*

I swung both blades in a scissor-like fashion on the IS's wings, that ought to keep her on the ground for good.

"Ugh!"

I rolled into my landing and saw the IS's wings cracking electricity as I got back up, standing behind her.

Now I'm in between her and the south building, if she were to attack me, she'll cause more collateral damage.

"—"

The IS turned towards me as I began to sprint back to the track and field, retracting my combat blades.

"_Cover, Hot Shot guys!"_

Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge are providing covering fire so I can get back to them, might as well help them out as well.

*PA PA PA PA PA PA!*

As I fired one of my Desert Rangers at the IS, I was able to re-group with the squad.

"_Okay, what now boss?"_

Ratchet's checking his Saber and Flak Cannon as Scourge and Sideswipe are still engaging on her.

"Alright, now that she can't fly with her wings damaged and PIC disabled, the only thing to do now is to bring this bitch down!"

I primed my Shockbust and clenched its handle.

"If we're going to do it, we have to do it now."

*DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON DON!*

The booming sound echoed as the missiles flew out at the same time from the IS's shoulders and wings.

"Incoming!"

The missiles rushed at us.

"Disperse!"

We all broke off as the missiles closed in.

"_Oh shit! They're locked on us!"_

*BAM!* *Click clack!*

*BAM!* *Click clack!*

*BAM!* *Click clack!*

Ratchet's continuously firing his Flak Cannon at the missiles homing in on him.

With its very wide shotgun pattern on every shot at close range, multiple missiles prematurely went off from getting hit by the barrage of energy-covered flak shells.

"Tch…"

I had my share of missiles homing on me.

But unlike Ratchet, I didn't equip my Silverback with a Flak Cannon to counter them.

The best I can do is to avoid them at all costs.

I sprinted left, heading for the soccer field with the missiles still following me from behind, roaring like a pack of wolves.

Getting closer and closer to the field, the missiles were slowly approaching right behind me.

There's only one thing that I have that could get me out of this mess.

"—"

Like a last ditch effort, I burst myself backwards into the air; jumping over the missiles that are locked on to me in a back flip fashion.

I threw out a Concussion grenade ahead of the hoard of missiles as they began to pull up towards back at me.

*Beephew!*

The Concussion grenade went off; throwing the missiles off their course and into total disarray.

Some of them went off by crashing into each other in mid-air, while the rest blew up as they crashed into the ground.

"Ha-ha-ha…"

"_Hot Shot, you okay?"_

Landing to recover from that ordeal, Sideswipe contacted me through the radio comms.

"I'm alright. What about Ratchet and Scourge?"

"_They're okay. Although, she managed to down Scourge's Silverback with those missiles, but Ratchet restored his energy shield."_

I got back up and spotted the IS at the school's track and field, engaging on Scourge.

*Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh!*

Scourge retaliates with his Saber assault rifle.

"_Come on, bitch! Is that all you got?"_

"—"

Her shoulder wings began to slide open as I made a mad rush towards the IS to assist Scourge.

But before I can get a shot off from my Saber, she launched another barrage of missiles at me and Scourge.

Scourge was still firing his Saber her, dodging each missile right before they hit him.

These missiles were not lock-on, so dodging them is a whole lot easier.

"Hah!"

I dove forward towards the oncoming missiles through the gaps, and hit the ground rolling towards the IS.

Getting out of my roll, I deployed both of my forearm mounted combat blades and lunged at her.

*KLANG!*

The sound of heaving metal clashing echoed throughout the school grounds.

The IS pulled out a halberd at the last second to deflect my strike, knocking me back.

"—"

"Tch. So you _**do**_ have a melee weapon."

Trying to regain my balance, she was about to strike her Halberd down right at me.

"Ugh!"

I dove right to dodge the first strike, but she wasn't done; she soon followed up with a series of swings.

*Whooph!*

Going left…

*Whooph!*

Then right...

And while I was avoiding the swings, Sideswipe then came on the radio comms.

"_Hot Shot, I'm picking up 6 bogies heading our way."_

"How far are they away from us?"

"_They're about 10 kilometer (6.2 miles) away from here and closing in fast."_

"Well, check on them once every now and then."

"_You got it."_

Great, as if things aren't tough enough as it is…

The IS held her halberd up about to do an overhead swing.

On reaction, I raised my both my arms up and crossed my blades to block the downward strike.

"Gr-r-r-r-g-gh!"

A deadlock, but one where the IS has the advantage because she's applying her weight down on me.

"Gr-r. Er-r-r-r-rghh!"

I can feel the ground collapsing from underneath me; I won't last much longer…

"Guys, I can use some help here!"

Scourge and Sideswipe were frantically aiming their Sabers precisely to avoid hitting me.

"_Bro, we can't get a clear shot off with you in that deadlock."_

"Ratchet…"

"_You want to blow up the whole school? Anyway, those bogies Sideswipe have spotted had stopped about 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) from here."_

"Well, wha- what are they doing- if they have to stop?"

"_I don't know for sure, but it looks like that they're just hovering there."_

"Tch..."

"—"

The IS continues to apply more force on me, forcing me further into the ground.

*Tick-tack!*

I heard a sharp metallic cracking sound from above and looked at my blades.

_Oh, shit…_

A crack began to form on both blades from where the blade of the IS's Halberd in contact with.

"Gr-er-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r…"

As a last ditch effort to break the lock, I shift my crossed blades to the left…

"HYA-AGH!"

And suddenly swung them sideways to the right, diverting the IS's strike.

The sudden jolt threw her off balance.

With the current conditions of my blades, I have to retract them and go bare handed.

And just as I was about to make a strike towards the IS, someone blared through the radio comms.

"_INCOMING!"_

"!"

**BOOM!**

***BOOM!***

Something struck both me and the rogue IS; knocking her down and knocking me away from her.

"Dagh! Ugh!... Ugh…"

The visor has a huge 3-way crack in the center of it, with all 3 cracks reaching the edges of the visor. As for the vision, it lost its color and blurred as I hit the ground from that attack.

"Ugh…"

I tried to get myself up, but it feels like that I have a huge weight throughout my body, preventing me from getting up.

I can faintly hear Sideswipe in the raido comms to alert Ratchet and Scourge…

"_Hot Shot's down! Hot Shot, Hot Shot!"_

"_UO-O-O-O-O-H-H-H-H! Stop this at once!"_

"_Who are you guys? And why are you attacking that IS?"_

The radio comms are flooding with constant chatter from multiple sources; making it difficult to make out who's saying what.

All the while my helmet's vision began to slowly turn from grey to red hue.

* * *

><p><em><strong>12:29 PM, August 17 2021. Odaiba, Japan Airspace.<strong>_

Soaring through the skies over Odaiba is a small group of ISes, flying in the direction of Ishiyama High.

This group of ISes consists of the Byakushiki, Blue Tears, Shenlong, Raphael-Revie Custom II, Schwarzer Regen and Akatsubaki.

The Byakushiki, piloted by Ichika Orimura, is at the front of the group, leading the way. Entering range of their optical systems, Ichika is observing the ongoing skirmish ahead of them through a magnified live video feed.

"What are those things!-?"

Cecilia Alcott, pilot of the Blue Tear's, noticed the rogue IS and the Silverbacks don't resemble anything of what they've encountered before. As well as the size difference between the IS and the Silverbacks

"Whatever they are, they sure are not on good terms with each other."

Laura's watching two Silverbacks, one picking up another as the smoke around them began to clear. As the Silverback that got picked up stood up, it re-engaged the rogue IS. Charlotte, the Raphael-Revive Custom II's pilot, noticed the surrounding area around Ishiyama High.

"Well, at least the area around the high school's evacuated."

"That's good. Wait a minute…"

Ichika took a closer look at one of the Silverbacks through the video feed. The Silverback he's watching made a charge towards the IS, evading through the gaps of the oncoming missiles the IS launched and lunged at her with both forearm mounted combat blades deployed.

"Are those the Silverbacks!-?"

"Silverbacks? Weren't those recently unveiled?"

Rin, the ShenLong's pilot, watches one of the Silverbacks dodge the rogue IS's halberd, as they got closer to the high school.

"It said during its unveiling that it can rival the 3rd generation ISes..."

"That I would like to see."

Cecilia and Rin looks as though that a small fire has been lit up inside them. All the while, Houki continues to watch one of the Silverbacks get into a deadlock with the rogue IS while the other Silverbacks are having a tough time getting a steady aim.

"No matter what, we have to put an end to that."

""""""Right!""""""

Ichika called up his main weapon, the Yukihira, and Houki with her twin katanas, the Amatsuki and Karaware as the whole group stopped mid-air 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) away from the high school.

Charlotte called up her Garm SMG and Rin pulled out one of her scimitar blades.

Cecilia pulled out her Blue Pierce laser rifle and dispatched 4 bits from the Blue Tears's wings. Laura began to deploy support struts behind her, at the same time deploying her right shoulder mounted rail gun and both took aim at the IS and Silverback in their deadlock.

Ichika, Houki, Charlote and Rin are holding back behind Cecilia and Laura, waiting for them to take their shots.

*Zrr-r-r-r-r-r…*

Laura began to charge up her Railgun and Cecilia got a lock on her target.

Watching the Silverback break the deadlock by suddenly swinging his crossed arms right, the sudden jolt threw the IS off balance causing it to stumble. The gap in between the rogue IS and the Silverback gave the 2 IS pilots the opportunity.

*BOOM!*

*Bhew-!*

****Bhew—!****

The charged shot from Laura's rail gun and the laser beams from Cecilia's Blue Pierce laser rifle and bits were fired simultaneously. Impacting their targets near the south building of the high school

The rail gunshot and one of the bit's lasers made a direct hit on the rogue IS, and the Blue Pierce and the other 3 bits laser struck the Silverback that's in a middle of a mid air, pre-emptive strike towards the IS and he falls to the ground.

"Target's have been hit! Keep hitting them! Keep hitting them!"

"Tch!"

Ichika, tightly gripped the Yukihira, increased the thrusters power on the Byakushiki and flew towards the rogue IS and the Silverbacks.

Houki was startled at his abrupt yet reckless maneuver.

"Hey! Ichika!... Oh, he's always like this…"

With her calls unable to reach him, she and the rest of the IS pilots follow suit, amplifying their thruster's power output to catch up to the Byakushiki as they're heading towards Ishiyama High School.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span>

We're getting closer to the end of the first story arc for Project Silverback. And I hate to say this; but Chapter 9's going to take a long while. The main reason for this is because of important personal matters offline, mainly, college classes. I'm sorry to put it on hold here, guys. Especially where the story is right now.

If you have any thoughts, or feedbacks, please write them as reviews. Remember, I use them as referances for future chapters.


	10. Phase 1-9

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to IS: Infinite Stratos. This Fanfic is made just for entertainment and not for commercial use in anyway.

Author's Note: Alright, I have mixed feelings about this chapter, especially with the last parts. I feel that I've might've rushed it. And there are other things that have me getting these mixed feelings. In fact there are so many, I don't even know where to begin.

But that aside, here's the long awaited Chapter 9.

* * *

><p><strong>1<strong>**2:30**_** PM, August 17 2021. Ishiyama High, Odaiba, Japan.**_

"Ugh…"

I tried to get myself up, but it feels like that I have a huge weight throughout my body, preventing me from getting up.

I can fairly hear Sideswipe in the radio comms to alert Ratchet and Scourge…

"_Hot Shot's down! Hot Shot, Hot Shot!"_

"_UO-O-O-O-O-O-H-H-H-H! Stop this at once!"_

"_Who are you guys? And why are you attacking that IS?"_

The radio comms are flooding with constant chatter from multiple sources; making it difficult to make out who's saying what.

All the while my helmet's vision began to slowly turn grey to red hue.

"Grgh…"

I looked where the rogue IS was standing before, to find it down.

I struggled to turn around as I crawled.

_Oh shit…_

Six more ISes had entered the fray. They must be the ones who were picked up earlier.

Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge each have two ISes on them.

I can't distinct them in color because of the red hue on my helmet's visor.

The best they can do is avoiding their attacks.

Scourge's engaging an IS wielding twin katanas and she's being backed up by another IS with orb shaped shoulders, who's currently firing down on him.

As he managed to get out of her firing range, the twin wielder charged immediately after him to keep the pressure on him.

"_You want some!-?"_

Scourge went barehanded as the twin wielder was about to swing both her Katanas; but Scourge caught hold of both of her hands, getting in a deadlock.

I looked to see that Ratchet's engaging on a pair of ISes of his own. This time both ISes are gun wielders; one staying up in the air firing a sniper rifle, as for the other one, she's on ground level dual wielding machine guns.

Ratchet was avoiding the sniper's shots while engaging the IS that's at ground level, firing his flak cannon at her.

The IS he's firing on fired back.

Even though he's managing on his own, Ratchet's not that suited for melee combat if it were to come down to it.

As for Sideswipe, his situation's like Scourge's. One IS wielding a katana fully engaging on him, while another IS stayed back and provided support; the support being what looked like a railgun that's mounted on her right shoulder.

But the katana wielder is very different from the other 5 ISes, the pilot is a guy. There's only one guy in the whole world who can pilot an IS; Ichika Orimura.

While Sideswipes avoiding the railgun shots, the Ichika charged straight at him.

While I'm down maybe I can get something from these ISes…

"Ratchet, you think that you can get some intel on them?"

"_I'm trying all I can to avoid getting filled with holes here! And exactly what kind of intel?"_

"Mainly where those ISes came from; Tezla warned us beforehand that IS Academy would send out more ISes."

He also said that our Silverbacks spark can restore the energy shield on its own after it was broken through, but how long will that take?

Real bad time to be down right now.

*BAM!* *Click Clack*

*BAM!* *Click Clack*

"_Gugh-ah!"_

Ratchet hit his target in the chest and stumbled back a bit and he took advantage of this before she recovered.

"_Okay, I'm doing a quick scan on them…"_

Ratchet received a feedback that confirmed where those six ISes are from.

"_Oh, Shit! Now IS Academy's joined the party!"_

Well that confirms Tezla's heads up.

"_Man, aren't you persistence?"_

Sideswipe kept on avoiding Ichika's strikes. He pulled out his Desert Ranger and took aim at Ichika in close range.

*CLANG!*

Ichika knocked the Desert Ranger out of Sideswipe's hand; landing right beside me.

Now, unarmed, he kept on moving back to increase the distance, so he can get his Saber out.

Noticing this, Ichika made a sudden burst of speed towards Sideswipe; holding his katana high above his head, Ichika's about to swing it down.

*Vr-r-r-r-rm!*

Sideswipe immediately revved his Saber's Chainsaw Bayonet.

*Ki-ck!* *Eer-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r!*

Sparks are flying in between Sideswipe and Ichika as they get into a deadlock.

"_Ugh-er-r-r-r-r."_

Ichika has the advantage beacuse he's much taller than Sideswipe, thanks to his IS. With that, he's able to apply downward pressure on Sideswipe.

Just like how the rouge IS did with me earlier.

As Ichika's applying more pressure, Sideswipe's struggling to keep up.

*Eer-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r!* *Krgh…*

"_Gugh!"_

Ichika suddenly swung his katana sidesways, knocking Sideswipe back.

Sideswipe tried to recover, but it was too much for him and he fell back.

As Sideswipe struggled to get back up, Ichika made a charge straight at him, ready to thrust his katana at him.

If he gets hit by that, it could break his energy shield.

I looked at Sideswipe's Desert Ranger that was right next to me. When I looked at it, the red hue that covered my visor has something for me.

_**[Energy Shield on standby, stand up to activate]**_

Looks like that I can get into the fray.

*Zrr-r-r-r-r-r…*

I heard electrical energy charging up above; noticing a glow from Ichika's support's railgun and she's aiming at Sideswipe.

I grabbed Sideswipe's Desert Ranger as I got up and made a mad dash towards them.

The red hue on my visor soon vanished and the color of my vision is restored. The 3-way crack that was in the center of it, all vanished but one.

I guess it's there to remind me that the energy shield's been broken once.

The pilot of the black IS has a small smirk on her face as she's about to fire her railgun at him; time to wipe that smirk off.

I took aim at here with the Desert Ranger…

*PA! PA! PA! PA! PA! PA!*

I fired multiple shots at her, some of them hitting the railgun itself, disrupting her aim as she fired a shot.

Now that's out of the way, I continued on and dove towards Ichika as he's about the thrust his katana at Sideswipe.

*BANG!*

I knocked Ichika away from Sideswipe, and crashed on the ground after contacting him.

"Ugh…"

I got back up to help Sideswipe get to his feet.

"Come on, man."

I handed Sideswipe his Desert Ranger back to him.

"_Shit, that was close."_

"Did he break your energy shield?"

"_No, it's regenerating right now."_

"_U-ugh…"_

Ichika was just recovering from the tackle I gave him, and now he's coming towards me.

"I'll handle Ichika. See what you can do with that railgun."

"_Right."_

Sideswipe broke off as Ichika came straight at me. Let's see what the only male IS pilot can do.

I pulled out both of my Desert Rangers and took aim at Ichika.

*PA! PA! PA! PA! PA! PA!*

Ichika dodge the shots as he got closer and closer.

I attempted to increase the distance between me and him by falling back, but his speed's too much.

"Hugh!"

As he got close, I dodge sideways to avoid his attack.

Now that I'm behind him, I made a lunge at him to get on his back.

*KLANG!*

"Grgh!"

I was struck by the backside of Ichika's katana. As I tried to recover, he turned around to face me and went into a kendo stance.

As he's in his Kendo Stance, his katana began to glow white-blue.

That can't be good…

I aimed both of my Desert Rangers at him, but he made another charge at me.

"Tch…"

He swung his katana multiple times at me as I dodged each of his strikes.

I tried to counter with my Saber's chainsaw bayonet but he's too quick for me to pull it out.

As he made an overhead swing, I dodged right and pulled out my Saber and fired multiple shots at him.

He immediately turned towards me, seeing the Saber shots coming right at him, he put his katana up in defense.

I continued to fire my Saber at him, but Ichika moved around serpentine style to avoid some of the shots and blocking the others as he came closer to me.

I lowered my stance as he got closer and when he's about to swing his katana sideways, I launched myself up in the air over Ichika.

He looked up and watched as I jumped over him.

*Vr-r-r-r-rm!*

Before he turned completely around to face me I made another lunge towards him; Chainsaw Bayonet revved.

*Ki-ck!*

Ichika knocked me back, but I fired my Saber at him.

Instead of dodging them, he brought up his katana to block them again.

*Bheew!*

"!"

As I was about to land, a laser missed my left shoulder by mere milimeters.

I looked to see that it came from the IS that was engaging on Ratchet, sporting the color blue and she's wielding a sniper rifle.

As if dealing with Ichika alone wasn't bad enough…

*Bheew!* *Bheew!* *Bheew!*

She's raining shots down as I tried to dodge not only her shots, but also Ichika's strikes as well.

To make a counter effort against the blue IS, I pulled out my Shockburst to get the proper accuracy on her, seeing that the Saber's not going to do much against her when she's in the air.

*Pephee-ew!* *Pephee-ew!*

She dodged both shots as I have to stop firing at her to fend Ichika off.

Instinctively, I pulled out one of my Desert Rangers with my left and fired it as Ichika was about to attack with his katana.

*PA!* *PA!* *PA!*

This time Ichika was knocked off balance and he missed my left arm.

As I was about to re-engage the blue IS, I noticed that Sideswipe was engaging on the IS with the railgun at ground level.

Just like me with Ichika earlier, he's avoiding her attacks as she swung both of her energy blades that looked to be mounted on her forearms, like my combat blades.

Only that hers are longer than mine.

As she swung her right blade at him, he sidestepped a bit to his right to avoid the energy blade, caught hold of her hand, pulled her towards him and landed a punch into her mid-section.

As she bent a bit forward, he climbed onto her and he started to attack her railgun.

He got a few hits on it but she plucked him off her back and threw him in front of her.

Rolling out of that throw, Sideswipe switched to his Saber before the black IS charged at him, beam spears still deployed.

*Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh!*

Dodging each shot, she closed on Sideswipe.

As she's about to thrust one of her beam spears at him, Sideswipe dove between her legs.

Before she turned around, Sideswipe made a lung at her, clenched his right fist and was about to punch her in mid air.

"_Hmph!"_

As he's about to land his punch, the black IS's pilot made a smirk; like she's expecting him to come up close to her.

_Oh shit!_

"Sideswipe, back off! Back off!"

She then raised her right hand up towards Sideswipe, shooting an energy net at him. Although it didn't hurt him, but Sideswipe looks as though he's stuck in mid-air; he's not even moving an inch.

"_Gr-r-rgh! Damn it! I can't! It feels like my whole body's frozen!"_

Now that she got him in her grasp, she then deployed her railgun and aimed it right at him.

I took aim towards the black IS.

"_Over here!"_

"!"

Ichika came suddenly at me from my left side and I narrowly avoided his katana.

*Bz-t!*

My vision blurred for a bit and had a bit of static on it just as the katana missed me, but then restored itself.

Turning towards Ichika, I switched to my Saber and dove back as I fired it towards him.

*Bhew—!*

Again, that blue IS was shooting at me as I'm re-engaging Ichika.

I was about to shoot at her to shake her off a bit.

*BOOM!*

"_Gu-u-agh! Ugh… Ugh…"_

A thunderous sound boomed throughout the campus, catching Scourge and Ratchet's attention, as well as mine.

I looked to where the source of the noise came from to see a mortar-sized round casing being ejected from the side of the black IS's railgun.

In front of her is a suit of armor falling to the ground.

"Sideswipe!"

Noticing this, Scourge tried to break off from the magenta and red ISes, but they prevented him from doing so.

Ratchet also tried to get to Sideswipe, but then the orange IS landed in front of him at a short distance as she stretched out both of her hands; both holding what looks like shotguns.

Ratchet would fire at her, but before he could react, she already has her weapons at his level.

Just as she pulled the triggers, Ratchet made an attempt to dive back, but each shot came at him faster than he can dodge.

"_Fu-ugh! Oh-h-h…"_

Smoke soon engulfed Ratchet, as the orange IS continued her barrage.

Then he emerged from the smoke could, with his energy shield having the same cracked-glass pattern all over his armor like with Scourge earlier. But this time it's worse; it looks as though it's about to shatter.

Like a predator stalking her prey, she immediately charged at Ratchet and her left arm opened up, revealing some sort of pilebunker.

"_!"_

Before he can move, the orange IS clenched her left hand and thrust her arm forward.

*BAM!*

_"Ugh-oh! Oh… Oh…"_

The pilebunker struck Ratchet in the abdomen. At the moment of impact, the cracked-glass pattern that's his energy shield had shattered.

The pilot of the orange IS held Ratchet up, who looks 'impaled' by the pilebunker on her arm, and showed an angelic smile with a killing intent behind it. But strangely, it has a bit of guilt in it at the same time.

Ratchet and the orange IS pilot looked at each other up close. He weakly brought up his Flak Cannon only to drop it. As his Flak Cannon fell, the last bit of strength he had is sapped out of him.

Seeing no movement from him, she flung Ratchet off of her pilebunker with some of his weapons falling off of him as he hit the ground.

"_That's it! You're next!"_

Ratchet getting downed didn't go unnoticed by Scourge. As he's broke off from the magenta and red ISes, he pulled out his Saber and revved the chainsaw bayonet.

As he lunged at her, the magenta IS charged her orb-shaped shoulders and unleashed massive shots at him from his left side.

**BOOM!**

"_D'oh-h-h-h!"_

Scourge was knocked to the ground and the red IS charged towards him as he's getting up, about to overhead swing her katanas.

As he's about to take her on, the orange IS was coming up at him from behind, and the magenta IS then began to charge up her shots again.

Right before the red IS swung her katanas, he jumped back to avoid the swings.

Seeing an opening, he dove right at her, tackling her to the ground.

Standing over her, he grabbed the IS's pilot by the collar and clenched his right fist.

*BANG!*

"_Ugh!"_

As he's about to land the first hit on her, he was knocked off of her; seeing the orange IS with a shotgun aimed at him, as he's about to recover from the hit he took...

**BOOM!**

"_Ba-agh!"_

The magenta IS struck Scourge with her charged shots, causing his energy shield to have the same shatter effect that happened to Ratchet.

The shots sent him flying and he crashed close by to Ratchet.

"Scourge!"

Scourge laid there, completely motionless and he wasn't responding to my radio calls.

Those 3 ISes were checking on each other after downing Ratchet and Scourge.

"_UO-O-O-O-O-O-OH-H-H!"_

While doing so, Ichika came at me as I pulled out a concussion grenade.

I backed of so I can throw the grenade at those 3 ISes as they slowly approached Ratchet and Scourge.

But with his persistence, all I can do is avoid his attacks.

_Can't keep this up forever…_

All this has been is a stalemate.

I tried what I can to get on the offensive.

Both of my assault rifles, and sidearms…

None of those helped.

Except…

I looked at both of my forearms as I continued to avoid Ichika's attacks.

_**[Forearm Blades: Moderately Damaged]**_

I know it's a risk, but it's something they don't know…

Ichika swung his katana sideways as I jumped back a bit.

Now that I'm at a safe distance from him, I charged straight at him, but he sidestepped at the last minute.

But that doesn't mean that I completely missed him.

As I passed him, I swung a backhand with my right fist and deployed its combat blade.

*KLASH!*

"_U-ugh!"_

The blade struck Ichika's backside, knocking him off balance.

Before he recovered from the hit, I deployed my left combat blade.

As I'm charging back at him, Ichika performed a back swing with his katana, swinging it upwards.

*KLANG!*

Both of our blades crossed, with him knocking me back. And he charged towards me as I was landing.

Not wanting to cause more damage to my blades, I dodged as much as I could.

Every opening I saw, I used the chance to get a hit in.

But Ichika's too quick with his counters.

With every near miss from that katana, my vision blurs for a quick second and quickly restores itself.

If it's like that with every near miss, I'd sure don't want that katana to make full contact.

I tried attacking his lower body, but he's too fast as he backed off, only to re-engage me once again.

"Tch…"

Clenching my fists, as he came fast at me, I made an attempt to counter his strikes. Only this time, he's getting faster and more persistent with his attacks.

And within in that barrage, he had his katana high up and it rapidly came down at me.

This attack is too quick, I can't dodge it.

*KLANG!*

I crossed my blades and raised them to block Ichika's katana, putting us in a deadlock.

"Gr-r-r-r-r-rgh!"

One of the things I don't need.

"Gr-r. Er-r-r-r-r-rgh!"

Ichika's applying more downward force on me.

I better get out of this…

"Ger-r-r-r-r-r…"

I slacked my right blade a bit and Ichika's katana slide along my leftt blade.

"Shr-rgh!"

Using Ichika's momentum, I swung my left blade downwards to the left, diverting the direction of Ichika's swing.

With him down, I swung my both my blade twice in a scissors fashion at his legs, bringing his upper body down to my level.

"Hyagh!"

*BAM!*

I swung my right fist downward like a hammer at his head and followed up with an upward swing.

*KLING!*

The blade made contact, with metal shards flying.

"!"

I saw the blade as I brought my right arm up.

"!..."

Or what's left of it…

As Ichika stumbled back from my attack, instinctually my right hand pulled out one of my sidearms and began to re-engage the blue IS.

Noticing that I'm focused on her, she began to fire her sniper rifle. Dodging each shot as I got closer, I retaliated with my sidearm when she's within range.

*PA!* *PA!* *PA!*

She dodged each shot and fell back. And as she fell back, the outer parts of her wings began to fall off and began to fly straight at me.

4 of the them to be exact.

_What the hell?_

"!"

One of the wing pieces fired a laser at me.

"Huh!"

I barely dodged it as I was about to switch to my Shockburst.

Just as I was recovering, another wing piece came up on right side. I instinctually aimed my Shockburst at it, but saw another one in my left peripheral vision.

_Being shot from two sides!-?_

I launched myself into the air to avoid the laser shots.

Finding myself in mid-air, I took aim at one of the wing pieces and fired multiple shots, and I saw one of my shots piercing through the wing piece.

As my shot pierced through, the wing piece blew up. That's one down.

Looking shocked the blue ISes pilot waved her right arm and the remaining wing pieces flew at me as I landed.

Each wing piece is firing a barrage of lasers as I dodge them. When the barrage stopped for a bit, I raised my Shockburst and fired 3 carefully aimed shots at them, all of them hitting their mark.

Now that those are out of the way, I turned towards the blue IS and closed the gap in between me and her, dodging her shots along the way.

Getting within range, I launched myself into the air and I brought up my left fist, combat blade deployed, as I got closer and closer.

_I've got you now…_

She couldn't aim her rifle at me because of the length, so this is my shot at getting a hit on her.

"—_You fell for it."_

The blonde-haired IS pilot made a smirk, similar to that of the black IS when Sideswipe went up close with her.

_Oh shit!_

I instinctually pulled out a concussion grenade.

*PAM—*

The skirt shaped armor on the sides of her abdomen rose up.

"_I'm sorry, but there're 6 Blue Tears."_

I can't dodge them as I have virtually no control of my direction in the air.

And those are not like the last 4 that shot lasers. These are missiles.

As a last ditch effort, I switched from my grenade, pulled both of my sidearms out and fired at both missiles as they got within 2 meters (6 Ft. 5 In.) of me.

**BAM!**

Both missiles went off prematurely from getting shot, and the force of the explosion knocked me out of the air.

"Ugh!"

I hit the ground and rolled out of it, but not unscathed.

My vision lost its color and it's slightly burred.

Not wanting them to know that my energy shield's about to break, I aimed both of my sidearms high at the blue IS and squeezed the triggers.

At that moment, a silhouette of a person with over sized limbs charged at me with a glowing katana at breakneck speed. He's over swinging his katana at me just as the shots went off.

_Ichika…_

I tried to reach for my lower back to get a different weapon.

"Gua-agh!"

Right when I did, I felt the Katana impact my left shoulder and a huge 3-way crack appeared on my helmet's visor again. Even though the katana didn't cut through the armor, it continued going down to my lower right hip.

After the katana struck me, I fell face first in front of Ichika.

Energy shield's been broken for the second time…

As my visor began to turn a red hue again, I can barely see that black IS that downed Sideswipe, carrying him, not in her arms, but what looks like wires that have him hogtied. And those wires look as though they're functioning more like tentacles as they're holding him.

Sideswipe wasn't even struggling to get out, more like he's completely lifeless.

Then the two ISes I was engaging alternatively on approached me.

As I'm lying completely motionless, a voice rang through the radio comms…

"_Okay, what now, boss?"_

* * *

><p>Ichika watches as the Silverback he attacked falls in front of him.<p>

With it now lying on the ground completely motionless, Ichika reverted his katana, the Yukihira Type 2, to its normal state.

"Did you use the barrier void attack on him, Ichika-san?"

Cecilia landed close behind him to have a closer look at the Silverback they were both fighting.

"No, I didn't use it. So, these are the Silverbacks huh?"

Ichika took a closer look as a scanner appeared on his Heads Up Display.

"If that's all they've got, then so much for them being a match up to the 3rd generation ISes."

Cecilia twirled her hair as she gloated over there win in that skirmish.

"Hold on…"

_**[Life Signs Detected]**_

"Oh crap."

Ichika whispered as he scanned the Silverback he downed and he looked at the two Silverbacks Houki, Rin and Charlotte are looking at.

"Are you guys getting anything from those two?"

Rin had a keen look on her face as she examined the larger Silverback of the two that are close to each other.

"Yeah, I'm getting life signs from this one."

"This one as well."

Charlotte picked up one of the Silverback's weapons as she looked at the smaller Silverback of the two.

"Laura, what about the one you ha—aah!"

Charlotte saw Laura using her energy wires to hold the Silverback she downed and to her surprised she has him hogtied and using the energy wires to carry it.

"I got a life reading here, too."

Laura took another close look at the Silverback she's carrying.

"But they all seem to be unconscious, and I'm not getting any energy readings from the any of these suits."

"So, we've been fighting manned machines and not drones…"

Houki thought back on the fight to try to see if they showed any signs of human qualities.

"Now that you mentioned it Houki…"

Ichika cut her off while she's in thought.

"While I was attacking one of these Silverbacks, this one I downed tackled me to protect him; the Silverback that I was fighting with before is the one Laura's carrying."

"And he also shot me a few times while I was charging up my railgun before he tackled you..."

"Another thing is this big one here; he tried to break off of me and Houki-san after Laura fired her railgun."

"Same goes when I downed this one here."

Charlotte pointed the smaller one out as she examined the weapon she picked up.

"He tried to break off of you two so he can get to either one of them…"

"Hmph."

Ichika took a quick look at the four Silverbacks.

"Unmanned machines don't do that."

Now that the IS pilots know that the Silverbacks are manned machines, they're checking on them if they're pilots are okay.

"Ichika, even though they're unconscious, all of their vitals are okay."

"Yeah, but we have to be careful, Charlotte. We really don't know anything about these Silverbacks."

"One thing we know is that they can't really match up to the IS~"

Rin, like Cecilia, couldn't help but sing song their victory as they're looking over the two Silverbacks she, Houki and Charlotte downed.

"Rin-chan, even so, there are still human pilots in those suits. We could've killed them…"

"Mu-u-u-ur~"

Slightly annoyed, Rin continued looking over the Silverbacks while Houki has a curious look on her face.

"So what are we going to do with them?"

"We should bring them over to the instructors to handle them. Right now, let's check on what we're really here for."

"Hm."

Houki nodded in agreement.

"I'll check on the Rouge IS, you guys watch those Silverbacks."

"""""Right."""""

The reason why they're at Ishiyama High is because of the Rogue IS. And when the security teams failed to stop it, they were sent out to pursue it.

As Ichika reached the Rogue IS, multiple ear piercing sounds ringed through the campus grounds.

"Ah!..."

Hearing the sounds, Ichika turned around to see smoke clouds where the other five IS pilots and the Silverbacks are.

Sensing trouble, Ichika dashed back to them.

As he's heading back, his IS picked up three additional energy signatures mixed in with Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte and Laura.

* * *

><p>"<em>Okay, what now, boss?"<em>

_Tch…_

Great, all four of us are down now, with Sideswipe all hogtied…

The ISes cautiously approached us. They think that we're down for the count, but that's not true and they don't seem to know that.

The Silverback has to be downed three times in order for it to be out of the fight. Let's see here…

Scourge and I have been downed twice; Sideswipe and Ratchet, downed once.

Six ISes; three of them right by Ratchet and Scourge, one with Sideswipe and the other two are with me; being Ichika and his support.

We can't do anything to startle them. Not when they're watching closely. Unless…

_Huh?_

I feel something in my right hand. With my whole body on top of my right hand, Ichika and his support can't see it.

This object has this cylinder-shaped canister feel to it with holes on the sides…

_!_

A concussion grenade; must've gotten it as Ichika broke through my energy shield.

Maybe there's something we can do with these…

"Ratchet, you there?"

"_Yeah, unfortunately…"_

"Got any concussion grenades?"

"_I only have two left."_

"Scourge, you there? What about you?"

"_Same here; got two left."_

I tried to avert my eyes over to Sideswipe, and just as I barely have him in my eyesight…

"_So what's the plan?"_

"First of all, we have to get you untied. I got something in mind, but you'll have to wait. Ratchet, you got those grenades on you right now."

"_No… they were knocked off after…"_

"?…"

Ratchet made a pause mid-sentence and he sounded a bit hesitant in his response.

"Ratchet?"

"_Ha-ha-ha…"_

Now he sounds like he's having a tough time breathing…

"Ratchet."

"_!.. Uh… Sorry, Hot Shot. It's just that when she hit me with that pilebunker, my concussion grenades were knocked off… And at least, they're within arm's reach... "_

That isn't a normal response from Ratchet, but it's not something that I should be dealing with right now.

"But are you okay?"

"_I'm doing just dandy by lying here…"_

"Well, okay…"

I clenched the grenade to ease the tension that's built up.

"I have a Concussion grenade in hand, but they don't know it because my body's covering it."

I eyeballed Ichika and his support, then to Sideswipe. I eyeballed back at Ichika and it looks as though he's about go off somewhere…

_**[Energy Shield on standby, stand up to activate]**_

"You guys have something on your visors?"

"_No… I don't have a feedback about the energy shield..."_

"_I have the feedback, Bro. But I obviously can't do that yet."_

"_I got it as well; it's just flashing away at me…"_

"Okay, here's the plan; Ratchet, get that Concussion grenade and throw it at those three ISes to disorient them. But make sure it's set hot before you throw it. Scourge, you're to do as you see fit to take them down; but watch it, this is the second time your energy shield's been broken through. One more, and that's it, you're out of this fight."

"_Got it."_

"_You got it."_

"Sideswipe, pretend you're unconscious, I'll get you out."

"_Not much I can do anyway."_

I made another eyeball look at Ichika's support, then Ichika.

"I'll make the first move; don't do anything stupid while you wait…"

Tightly clenching the grenade in my hand to ease up even more tension, I wait patiently for the right moment…

I looked at the IS who's carrying Sideswipe with her tentacle-like wires. Of all the methods to tie him up, why Hogtie?

I don't even want to think about it. Not with how females these days can be sometimes…

Waiting patiently, Ichika began to take off somewhere. Not knowing where, I waited a bit longer for the right time to go with the plan.

After Ichika took off, his support watched over me in his place. I can't go with it yet…

"_Okay, Ichika's gone… Now what?"_

Ratchet's getting a little impatient…

"Not yet…"

I looked at Ichika's support and she turned her attention to Sideswipe. With her back turned, it's not going to work out well.

_Not yet…_

She then began to turn back to me, I armed my grenade as she did; this may not look like it, but this is the time to act…

Just as she looked down, I flung out the grenade in front of her.

*Beephew!*

The ringing sound pierced through the surrounding area. I got myself back up and the vision on my visor restored itself, only that it has two huge cracks on the visor now.

The blue IS that stood over me, stumbled back away from the small smoke cloud the grenade produced and dropped her large sniper rifle.

Even though I didn't get the full effects of the Concussion grenade, it's really difficult to keep my balance.

While I'm regaining my balance, the black IS seemed to tighten her 'grip' on Sideswipe. I got to get him out of there…

Laying near the blue IS is the large sniper rifle she dropped.

I rushed through the smoke cloud and picked it up by the end of the barrel.

The blue IS's still disoriented and unaware that I had picked up her large sniper rifle. Looking back behind her, the black IS brought out more of those energy wires from her back.

What I noticed while I was down, is that this blue IS's pilot seems to have some sort of 'pride' in her skills and position.

If there's one thing I have to tell you; is that if there's a specific type of person I hate the most; it's those who take 'pride'.

For me, that's a sign of them being 'egomaniacs'. Those who look down on others, those who deserved to be pulled down from their 'high horse', as others would say, in a harsh manner.

My solution with dealing them, is take whatever they have pride in, and simply disgrace them with it!

I swung the large gun like a large kanabo at the blue IS, just as the black IS behind her shot more of the energy wires at me.

"Hya-ah!"

*BANG!*

On impact, I felt the large rifle dissipating into white particles as the blue IS collided with the black IS.

The impact caused the black IS to loosen her tie on Sideswipe.

Taking advantage of the whole commotion, Sideswipe broke free the moment the black IS 'dropped' him as he was loosely tied.

* * *

><p>*Beephew!*<p>

The Akatsubaki, Shenlong and Raphael Revive Custom II ISes took a quick a look to where the ear ringing noise came from to see a smoke cloud right by the Blue Tears and the Schwarzer Regen.

"!"

Just as Rin looked back to Ratchet and Scourge, a cylinder-shaped canister flew up in the middle of her, Houki and Charlotte.

*Beephew!*

The same high pitch sound ringed through the heads of the three IS pilots as they're engulfed by the smoke cloud produced by a Concussion grenade.

With the three ISes engulfed by the smoke cloud, Scourge took advantage and tackled the Akatsubaki the moment he got up, while they're disoriented from the grenade's effect.

As he's over the Akatsubaki, Scourge drew and clenched his right fist, before unleashing a thunderous punch on Houki's face.

Shortly after Scourge brought the Akatsubaki down, Ratchet sprang up to the Raphael Revive Custom II and grabbed hold of the weapon she picked up. That weapon she has in her hand is Ratchet's Flak Cannon.

Feeling Ratchet's pull on her right arm while disoriented from the Concussion grenade, Charlotte aimed his own weapon at him. As she moved her arm, Ratchet diverted her by holding on to her right arm, spinning counter clockwise to have her arm wrapped around him, bent forward to lower her stance.

Charlotte tried to fling Ratchet off, but he grabbed her arm even tighter. With how Charlotte's right arm wrapped around Ratchet, the side part of his Flak Cannon is held up against the left side of his head.

"_Fr-r-r-r-rgh…"_

Struggling to get his weapon back, he then changed his grip from Charlotte's arm, to the working mechanism of his Flak Cannon…

*Click* *Clack!*

Forced the side of the Flak Cannon even more against his head…

*BAM!*

The blast from the barrel went off right next to Ratchet's head; sending a tight group of energy infused flak shells right towards Charlotte's head…

She loosened her arm around Ratchet and his Flak Cannon fell out of her hand as she stumbled back.

As Charlotte stumbled back, Ratchet bent down.

"_And… I'll take that..."_

He picked up his Flak Cannon in an attempt to shrug that ordeal off.

After dealing with the Akatsubaki, Scourge moved on to the Shenlong and made quick work with her by grabbing both sides of Rin's head and yank her head against his; giving Rin a massive head butt and breaking the magenta-colored tiara looking piece on her forehead.

The impact she received made her even more disoriented.

Noticing the Raphael Revive Custom II stumbling backwards to him, he backed off to check on Ratchet.

"_You okay, bro?"_

"_Yeah, sure…"_

Recovering from their ordeal, the two began to recover Ratchet's other weapons.

As they backed off a bit more from the three ISes to do so, Hot Shot knocked the Blue Tears into the Schwarzer Regen with the Blue Tear's own sniper rifle.

The impact the Schwarzer Regen received loosened her tie on Sideswipe. As she 'dropped' Sideswipe, the tie got even looser as he hit the ground and he manages to break free.

Knowing that Sideswipe's free, Hot Shot closed in on the Blue Tears, grabbed hold of her right arm with his left hand, pulled her towards him and thrust his right fist into her abdomen.

Letting go of her as she's bent forward, he gave a huge kick in the same spot he punched, sending her crashing into the Raphael Revive that's close by.

Sideswipe's vision fully restored itself, aside from a huge crack on his visor and he began to fight back on the Schwarzer Regen that hogtied him.

Noticing the Schwazer Regen's trying to recover from the impact she received, Sideswipe jumped on her back and began to thrash her around a bit as much as he could.

With his thrashing movement, Laura's unable to regain her balance with her Schwarzer Regen. They continued this thrashing as Laura stumbled slowly towards the other four downed ISes

"_UO-O-O-O-O-O-O-OHH!"_

Attempting to make a surprise attack, Ichika charged towards Hot Shot. Hearing Ichika's battle cry is a dead giveaway for Hot Shot; telling him where the attack's coming from.

Right before Ichika thrust his Yukihira at Hot Shot, he made a sidestep and grabbed hold of his side as he passed by.

Feeling movement from left side to his back, he and Hot Shot began the same hustle and tussle as Sideswipe and Laura are having.

Even though Hot Shot's smaller in comparison to Ichika in his Byakushiki, he's able to manipulate Ichika into facing the other five ISes. Four of them down, and Sideswipe and the Schwarzer Regen thrashing each other about.

"!"

Shocked from what he saw, he attempt to reach for Hot Shot to get him off of his back in anger but as he tried, Hot Shot pulled a cylinder-shaped canister, which's a Concussion grenade and armed it…

"_Say 'hi' to your friends for me!"_

The moment Ichika heard Hot Shot's slightly distorted tone, he felt a hard tap on his upper back before receiving a hard kick just a little lower from it; sending him right to his comrades.

Ichika spun around a bit to find out what was put on his back along the way.

As Ichika got closer to the other five ISes, Sideswipe armed the same kind of grenade and tagged it on Laura's back and jumped off of her right before Ichika got next to her.

**BEEPHEW!**

After both grenades went off, Alpha Squad regrouped on Hot Shot.

* * *

><p>"<em>Ha… I can't believe it! We actually did it!"<em>

Ratchet exclaimed in a shocked tone.

As we're regrouping, I took a quick scan of the whole campus grounds and then back at the ISes.

The smoke cloud that engulfed them dissipated into the air, showing that all 6 of them are down.

Ratchet took a quick scan as well, but towards the rogue IS we were originally supposed to take down.

"So for bringing that bitch down before 'they' showed up…"

I looked at the rogue IS as well. Seeing that there's no movement, or any 'signs of life' from it, there's not much for us to do here…

"Alright, before we head back, we should take a look and see what we can find out of that rogue IS. Those Concussion grenades aren't going to keep those other 6 ISes down for long."

"_Yeah, if you don't take their Hyper Sensors into consideration…"_

Ratchet's checking his weapons to see if they're fully functioning. With him saying that, he must've remembered something that I've forgotten…

"Spill it…"

Ratchet primed his Flak Cannon before holding it down.

"_Tezla mentioned that all ISes have Hyper Sensors when we first started using those Concussion grenades a few weeks ago. The Hyper Sensors greatly improves the IS pilot's senses; senses like sight and hearing. It also allows the pilot to see 360 degrees without even turning their heads. Now considering that the Concussion grenades are the Silverback's version of the conventional flash bang, but more with the smoke, it can already disorient those who're caught in the blast radius for a short period of time without the Hyper Sensors."_

Ratchet then held his last Concussion grenade in his hand.

"And with the Hyper Sensors improving the IS pilot's senses, then…"

"_The Concussion grenade's effects are a lot worse on those ISes because of the Hyper Sensors greatly improving the pilot's senses."_

"So we basically indirectly used their Hyper Sensors against them…"

"_Yeah, of course…"_

Ratchet seems to be okay from that fight we had with those ISes, but while we were down he hesitated in his response. That's the first time I heard that kind of talk from him.

But anyway, there's only one thing we can do now…

"Alright, now that the rogue IS is down, let's check on it and get the hell out of here before Ichika and the others come about..."

As we turned towards where the rogue IS, movement soon came from it.

Sideswipe instinctively raised his Saber up at her.

As he did, the rogue IS slowly rose up from where it was lying.

"_Well, there goes that idea!"_

I aimed both Desert Rangers towards the IS, as she's getting in her battle stance.

"Ratchet, got anything on her?"

The rogue IS then slid open her wing thrusters.

*DON DON DON DON DON!*

Missiles launched from her wing thrusters right before I was about to get single shot off.

"_I'm working on it! Get off my back!"_

All of us broke up to avoid the missile barrage. But not before attempting to shoot them down.

We all fired multiple shots, some of them hitting the missiles directly, others just grazing by some.

Some of them went off prematurely and setting off a chain reaction on the other missiles.

All of us felt the shockwave from being within close proximity of the blast radius.

I looked back at the rogue IS as I switched to my Shockburst.

"?"

What caught my attention on her is there's a small crack in the center of her chest area. Where did she get that from?

"_Guys, I think I have an idea on how we can bring her down for good."_

The IS launched more missiles.

"Well… spit it out!"

I made an attempt to dodge them so I can listen to Ratchet.

"_For starters… the missile pods. Aim for the missile pods when they slide open."_

Getting that from Ratchet, I rolled out of the dodge as the missiles went by.

I got back up, took aim and fired multiple laser beams at the IS.

_Wait until the pods open on her wing thrusters open up._

"_There are 4 pods we have to shoot. 2 on her shoulders, while the other 2 are on her wing thrusters."_

Waiting patiently, all of us kept our distance from the rogue IS.

Scourge fired his a few shots of his Saber at her to provoke her.

Some of them actually hit her on the same small crack I spotted on her chest; which actually stunned her a bit.

*Bz-z-zt…*

Getting agitated, the rogue IS opened the pods on her wing thrusters.

"Now! Concentrate your fire on her wing thrusters!"

I pulled the trigger on my Shockburst. Multiple laser beams at her left wing thrusters, joined by Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge.

Just as the missiles were launched from her left wing thrusters…

*DON DON—BOOM!*

The explosion on them knocked the rogue IS off balanced. She stumbled to get regain her balance.

Smoke fuming from what's left of the missile pod we've shot.

While she's regaining her balance, the right wing thruster's still open.

With her moving about, we can't get a clear shot at it.

As we moved to get a better aim, the IS fell back a bit using her wing thrusters.

When we got close, the rogue IS pulled out her Halberd.

""!""

Right when she did, we back off; not wanting to risk getting our energy shield chopped up.

Especially me and Scourge, we've been down twice. One more and we're out of this fight.

_**[Right Forearm Blade: Destroyed]**_

_**[Left Forearm Blade: Critically Damaged]**_

"Tch…"

After that melee fight with Ichika earlier, I got no other choice than to stay back.

Scourge fired his Saber at her, but she blocked the vital shots with the axe blade of her Halberd.

Sideswipe move to her left flank, Saber in hand to draw her attention.

"Sideswipe, you better not be using that chainsaw…"

"_I can't even use it because it got jammed after a deadlock I had earlier."_

Taking a closer look at his Saber's chainsaw, small electrical arcs coursed through the bayonet itself as he fired.

With Sideswipe grabbing her attention, Ratchet and Scourge opened fire her.

But as they did, both pods on her shoulders began to open up.

Without hesitation, I aimed my Shockburst at her right shoulder pod.

*Peephew!* *Peephew!* *Peephew!*

Firing multiple shots at her, the IS swung her Halberd in an attempt to block them.

But the shots came too quick and they've severely damaged the missile pod.

With her stumbling back again, Scourge switched to his Shockburst for accurate shots.

Waiting for her to expose the pod, Scourge pulled the trigger.

*Peephew!*

*BOOM!*

Knocked off balanced again from the explosion on her right shoulder, the IS almost lost grip on her Halberd.

"_Oh yeah! How'd you like us now, bitch?"_

The shock from the explosion not only knocked her off balanced, but also caused a more damage to her body.

The small crack from the center of her chest area had spread into other series of smaller ones; covering the majority of her upper chest area. With the crack in the center of her chest was originally small had gotten longer and widen as well, ending on her right abdomen.

"—"

Recovering from those hits, the rogue IS stood back up and regained her composer; aside from the smoke fuming out of her destroyed missile pods.

She raised her Halberd up in front of her, like she's willing to use her melee weapon for the remainder of the fight.

"!"

I hear a deep charging sound, as the IS lowered her stance a bit.

_What is she?_

Then a thunderous boom resonated throughout the campus, the rogue IS charging straight at me with her Halberd ready to strike.

I dodged just as she was about to swing her pole axe sideways. Because of her missing her attack, we now have her surrounded.

Recovering from missing her attack, the cracks on her upper chest were exposed as she turned around to determine her next target.

"_What the hell are those glowing things on her chest?"_

Scourge kept on firing his Saber, with him being further away from the IS; he couldn't really see her cracks as well.

Ratchet narrowed his eyes to have a better look.

"_Uh, looks like her armor's cracking up. Okay! That's got to be a weak spot! Aim for it!"_

Right when Ratchet finished his sentence, the rogue IS turned towards him and charged straight at him and Scourge like she did with me.

With no time to fire his Flak Cannon, Ratchet dodge immediately.

Scourge on the other fired a few more shots with his Shockburst before he dodged.

_*Tink!*_

"_Ogh!"_

The tip of the Halberd's blade landed on glancing blow Scourge's right hip.

All of us fired at the rogue IS before she realizes that she hit Scourge.

"Keep her off of him!"

Scourge backed away from her and switched to his Saber.

The IS regained her combat stance as we're continuously firing at her.

"_Wait until her chest's exposed! Aim for the heart area!"_

Ready to make another charge, the IS held her Halberd over head. Leaving the cracks on her upper chest exposed.

"Give her all you got, guys. Now!"

Just as she started to charge, we all fired immediately.

The rogue IS got closer and closer. Right at the last minute, all of us dispersed.

Now with her back turned on us, we've held our fire back until she faced us again.

_Long range shots didn't really work on her…_

I pulled my Saber out and got a bit closer to her.

"Don't shoot her until she's up close!"

Ratchet switched from his Flak Cannon to his Saber as he backed up a bit.

_"Yeah, you get cozy with her! I'll stand back!"_

With her facing us now, all of us unleashed another barrage at her.

I fired multiple shots into the center of her chest, right on the large crack…

*Bz-z-z-zt!*

*Clink!* *Clang!*

After hitting her, the rogue IS bent downward as if she's wincing in pain and erratically swung her Halberd around as a means of defense.

*KLUNK!* *KLUNK!*

Standing back up again, the IS got into her combat stance again.

With a deep charging sound resonating throughout the campus, all of us got ready for another charge.

"!"

But instead of a charge, she made a huge jump up into the air, heading towards Ratchet.

"Heads up!"

Ratchet aimed his Saber up and began to unleash a barrage of plasma, to get her down. All of us joined in as well.

Even though some of the shots hit the small cracks in her chest, the IS still broke through.

*DU-HN!*

The IS made a thunderous sound as she landed, Halberd already swung down.

The dust is kicked up from the IS's landing, and busting out of that dust cloud was Ratchet; rolling out as he hit the ground.

"You okay, Ratchet?"

"_Doing just dandy…"_

The IS then came out of the dust cloud as well, and continued with a charge towards me.

She swung her Halberd just as she got close.

Then swung it sideways multiple times. All I can do is just avoid her attacks. I would use my left combat blade, but…

_**[Left Forearm Blade: Critically Damaged]**_

Real bad timing to have these blades virtually done with this fight.

As she swung her halberd again, I put a huge effort in dodging it.

*Frgh-sch!*

I put too much into, cause at the end of my dodge, I lost my balance and fell.

I regained my vision from my fall to see the axe head coming down straight at me.

"!"

It's coming down at me faster than I can move.

I prepared for the hit…

*Beephew!*

*BOOM!*

I opened my eyes to see the axe head thwarted off and the IS herself stumbling back.

Multiple plasma and laser beams continued to hound on her.

Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge were providing covering fire.

Using this opportunity, I got back up and put some distance in between me and her.

Then I regrouped with my brothers.

Both Desert Rangers in hand, I aimed it right at her as she's still struggling to recover.

_Come on… Come on…_

The IS then slowly began to turn towards us, and I pulled both triggers.

**PA!**

Soon, my shots were joined by others as they flew right towards the rogue IS.

Right when the IS faced us…

*BOOM!*

All the shots made impact on the cracks in her chest, the IS once again looking as though she's wincing in pain.

But she didn't take as long to recover from that as before.

Standing back up, the IS tightly gripped her Halberd.

Tightly gripping her Halberd, the same deep humming sound filled the air again.

All of us dispersed instinctively to surround her.

*Fr-r-rm!*

"!"

The IS suddenly made a sudden lung towards Sideswipe.

Sideswipe made an attempt to dodge at the last minute, but the IS this time kept her bearing on him and swung her pole axe at him. He's dodging every swing, but barely because of the speed of her swings a lot faster than before.

I raised both of my sidearms and pulled both triggers to get her off of him.

*PA!* *PA!* *PA!* *PA!*

Each shot instantly hit her but they didn't faze her one bit. She still continued engaging on Sideswipe.

Sideswipe made an attempt to jump on her as a counter. With the Halberd just passing by him, he could just get on her…

*Krr-schack!*

"_Gu-ugh! Uh…"_

"!"

Sideswipe was knocked down and landed on his feet but unbalanced.

Noticing this, the IS followed up on Sideswipe.

"!..."

Every swing with that pole axe, Sideswipe's knocked around.

After a few hits, the cracked-glass pattern appeared all over his armor as was knocked back.

As she's about to swing her Halberd down at him, I fired both of my side arms to get her attention.

*Tink!* *Tink!* *Tink!*

But the moment I pulled the triggers, the axe head made contact with him. The cracked-glass pattern all over his armor shattered after that hit. Energy shield broken through for the 2nd time.

"Sideswipe!"

Sideswipe fell back as the IS drew her Halberd back. I instinctively kicked off the ground to get to him.

With Sideswipe down, she then turned her attention towards me and made the same sudden lung at me, blocking my way to Sideswipe. I brought both of my sidearms up as she got up close.

_If they didn't work at that far range, maybe it'll work up close._

But before I can pull the triggers, the Halberd's already coming right at me.

Like Sideswipe, I can only avoid the axe head.

*Peephew!* *Pephew!*

*Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh Perh!*

Shots were coming from my right side.

Ratchet and Scourge provided support to get her off of me. With the shots knocking her off balance, I used this chance to break off of her, and bolted towards Sideswipe.

He's lying down but hardly moving towards me. As I got to him, I grabbed him by his right shoulder and left hip to pick him up.

_Come on, Sideswipe. We've been through worse together._

As I picked him up, a layer of bluish-white energy came in from around him and covers him. After that layer of energy covered him, he stood up under his own power.

"_Thanks, man. I thought it was over…"_

"We're not done yet…"

Just as we looked at the rogue IS, she's closing the gap in between Ratchet and Scourge. They must've kept on running back to hold her off for this long.

Seeing that, Sideswipe pulled out his Shockburst, and I pulled out my Saber.

Both of us burst out from our spot; firing our assault rifles at her to get the pressure off of Ratchet and Scourge.

Our shots missed her but they were enough to grab her attention. Seeing that Sideswipe is back up, she made an immediate charge at him.

As we're getting closer and closer, I went next to Sideswipe and pushed him a side right before the Halberd was swung.

When she swung her Halberd, I launched myself up and over to avoid the axe head.

"Stay back, I'll handle her."

Sideswipe moved further back and regrouped with Ratchet and Scourge.

Standing face to face with the rogue IS, I watched closely for any movements from her, but she kept her combat stance with her Halberd ready.

"—"

"…"

Seconds feels like minutes as we stood, staring at each other. Tension built as I lowered my stance. If I were to say; it feels like the core of a nuclear bomb ready to go off.

*Fr-r-rm!*

The IS made the first move with a lung towards me, Halberd high up overhead.

*Vr-r-r-rm!*

I revved my Saber's chainsaw bayonet and raised it up.

*Kickr-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-rgh!...*

Not wanting to be in this deadlock for long, I swung my Saber sideways; thwarting the axe head off and forced it into cleaving the ground close to my right leg.

I used this chance to jump on her, but she brought her Halberd back up with a back swing.

"Ugh!"

I was knocked off by the pole portion in midair.

Landing on my feet, I tried to regain my balance, but the IS quickly followed up on me.

I backed up to get some distance but she's too quick.

She swung her Halberd sideways and I turned towards the axe head, chainsaw revved …

*Kickr-r-rgh!...*

This time I swung the Saber up to divert the axe head.

_!_

I put too much effort into and lost my balance and slipped on the ground.

The IS used the momentum that diverted her Halberd to prepare for a downward overhead swing.

Same situation from before, I tried to avoid the overhead swing, but like last time, her swing's too quick.

"!"

But unlike last time, the large crack in the center of her chest, as well as the smaller ones that expand from it, were exposed.

"Tch…"

At this moment, it feels that time has slowed. I launched myself towards her as the axe head came down and I drew back my left fist. I heard the axe head contacting the spot where I was laying; with all of my strength, I unleashed everything that's built in my left fist…

*Sheph-KING!*

My left fist made contact in the very center of the large crack in her chest. My fist feels frozen while it's in contact with it. I struggled to get my left fist free. Even though my whole fist is just pressed up against her chest, there something that's mounted above it that penetrated through.

"Hr-r-rgh!*

*Kink…*

_**[Left Forearm Blade: Destroyed]**_

The feedback popped on my visor as I pushed the rogue IS off of me.

The moment I pushed her off, she stood up for a bit; with my left combat blade stuck in her chest and completely penetrated through her back.

*Hm-m-m-m-m-m...*

A deep energetic humming sound filled the air before collapsing to the ground; electricity beginning to violent crack through her.

!

As the sound got louder and louder, I bolted away from her, blaring through the radio comms.

"Get down! She's going to blow!"

Upon hearing that, Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge dove away from the direction of the rogue IS.

A thunderous explosion boomed through the area as we hit the ground.

*Bzz-zt...*

The vision on my visor blurred for a second before it restored itself.

I took a look at the area around me before I stood back up, seeing that it's all clear, I looked back at the spot where the IS collapsed.

_Maybe we can find something we can use to find out what caused this IS to go rogue._

I went to where the IS collapsed to find debris littering the area of the explosion.

Although, there are large arms and legs looking as though they're in placement like there's a pilot in it. The wings, too, looked in place.

Judging from how this looked, it seems that the IS itself is intact. Looks as though that it was the drone piloting the IS that blew up. Bits and pieces of it are scattered close by.

"_Ha…" _

Ratchet sighed before asking.

"_So, how was it for you?"_

*Tack!*

He kicked a piece of the drone pilot.

"Ratchet, is there anything we can use to find out more about this IS? Mainly what caused it to go rogue?"

Ratchet looked at the scattered bits and pieces around the IS.

"_There's nothing I can use here. Unless…"_

Ratchet then checked on the IS itself and picked up something that's right next to the IS's right arm.

The object he picked up is a small rectangular box. It was covered with some black spots on it, but it seems to be intact by the looks of it.

"What is that?"

"_Looks like it's a key part to the drone pilot... I'm not too sure though."_

"You think it's still intact?"

"_Yeah, if it's designed to withstand an explosion like that…"_

Ratchet got up and placed the box on his lower back. Placing it there, the armor got a hold of it.

"_But, it seems that it's the only thing that's salvageable. The rest are just shit…"_

"If that's the case, then we got no other reason to stay here. Let's get out of here."

Just as we're about to leave the campus, Sideswipe blared through the radio comms.

"_Incoming!"_

*BOOM!*

A mid-sized crater emerged from the ground close to us, putting us on high alert.

_Now what?_

I took a quick scan around the grounds of the campus and saw that the 6 ISes we've fought off earlier are back again.

We've just finished taking down the rogue IS, and the Silverbacks are almost at their limit in their current state. Now's not the time to go and get into any unnecessary fights.

"Come, on! We've done what we came here to do! Let's get the hell out of here!"

With no hesitation, all 4 of us bolted out of the campus. We already had out hands full with that rogue IS, if we were to fight those 6 right now, all of that work will go to shit.

"Keep moving, Alpha!"

"_Where are we going, Hot Shot?"_

"…"

Shit, we've been so caught up on taking that IS down, I didn't even thought about a way of getting out when we finished…

_Wait a second, maybe there's something we can use behind the dorms…_

Being at the front of the group, I made a turn towards Ishiyama High's dormitories.

"_Hot Shot, you do know where we're heading right?"_

"Yeah, but I don't think we have a choice in this, Ratchet."

As the dormitories got into view, the 6 ISes are flying over us. Seeing an alleyway beside the dorms and a neighboring house, I turned into the alleyway and followed it and we're behind the dormitories.

* * *

><p>Pursing Alpha Squad were Ichika, Houki, Cecilia, Rin, Charlotte and Laura.<p>

All 6 of them are flying overhead as Alpha Squad turned into an alleyway and soon they've stopped behind Ishiyama High's dormitories.

"We've got them, now."

Cecilia pulled out her Blue Pierce laser rifle, and took aim at one of the Silverbacks.

"Wait…"

Ichika watched Alpha Squad closely as he lowered her rifle.

Alpha Squad looked up towards them for a bit, and then one of them turned his back on them and pulled out a huge brown shotgun looking weapon.

Instinctively, Laura deployed her railgun and support struts, aiming her railgun at them.

Charlotte did the same but with her Vent Semi-automatic assault rifle.

Rin and Houki pulled out their respected melee weapons and waited to charge in.

Just as Laura and Charlotte were about to fire, Alpha took cover behind 2 mid-sized dumpsters and a sudden flash and smoke cloud burst out next them.

"!-?"

As the smoke expanded and covered the area in the alleyway of where Alpha Squad's in, a black cylinder-shaped cansiter flew straight up and out of the smoke cloud.

"!"

Remembering what that canister is, Rin blared out.

"Everyone cover your eyes!"

*Beephew!*

The 6 IS pilots covered their eyes a few thousands of a second before a high pitched sound ringed in their heads.

As they opened their eyes, their vision on their ISes is blurred, and all of their other functions on their Hyper Sensors are jammed.

"Uh! Can you guys see anything in that smoke cloud?"

Having a tough time with his Hyper Sensors, Ichika turned towards Laura.

"I can't get anything…"

"What about thermal vision?"

Cecilia's frantically aiming her rifle anywhere in the smoke cloud below. Charlotte managed to switch her vision to answer Cecilia.

"All I'm getting is a black patch on where that smoke cloud is. There are no heat signatures in there."

"Wait, it's starting to clear…"

As Houki mentioned it, the others looked at the lower smoke cloud slowly dissipating.

""""""!-?""""""

To their surprise, when the smoke cleared, Alpha Squad's gone.

* * *

><p>"Alright, we're stopping here for now…"<p>

Reaching behind the dorms, I took a quick scan of the area.

"…"

When I looked up, the same 6 ISes caught up to us. Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge looked up at them as well.

"_What now, boss?"_

Ratchet took a glance back at me, then at the 6 ISes.

I checked what other equipment I have, other than my Sidearms and Assault Rifles.

_**[Cryo Grenades (x2) : Online]**_

_Cryo Grenades... Tezla mentioned something about these..._

_!_

"_Those 2 cyan canisters are Cryo grenades. Those grenades don't freeze anything when they go off, but they're perfect against infrared vision. When they go off, they'll immediately drop the surrounding air to freezing temperature (32 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0 degrees Celsius). If you're anywhere in that area, you'll be invisible to any infrared vision; conventional or IS."_

He also mentioned that I might have to use these to help with our escape. Seems that he knew what were going to go through before we fought the rogue IS.

Feeling one of the canisters, I scanned the ground with my eyes while my head's still facing the ISes above.

"!"

A large circular plate's on the ground right next to one of the dumpsters on the dorm side of the alleyway.

The plate's diameter is a bit larger than Scourge's Silverback; looks like we've got our escape route…

"Ratchet, still got some Concussion grenades?"

"_Only one though…"_

Ratchet turned his back towards the ISes as he pulled out his Flak Cannon.

"_I still got 2, Hot Shot. What's the plan?"_

Scourge asked while reaching for his lower back.

I looked back and spotted a bent up crowbar next to the dumpster next to me. That crowbar should help a bit.

Okay, this plan here's going to need timing. There's only one shot at it.

"Here's the plan; Scourge, toss a Concussion grenade a few meters in front of that circular plate. That plate is a manhole cover leading down into the sewers; we'll navigate our way out through there. When Scourge throws it, take cover behind these dumpsters. When it goes off and the smoke cloud expands to each side of the alleyway, bolt for that manhole cover. At the same time, Ratchet, launch your last Concussion grenade with your Flak Cannon straight up into the air. It's effect ought to disrupt those IS's Hyper Sensors. Got it?"

All of them nodded and without hesitation, Scourge threw a grenade at the manhole cover.

Immediately, all of us took cover behind the dumpsters, as I did, I picked up the crowbar.

*Beephew!*

A few seconds after getting the crowbar, the concussion grenade went off and a smoke cloud expands to the sides of the alleyway, now's the time to act.

Everyone bolted out with Ratchet firing his last grenade straight up into the air and I armed both Cryo grenades as he did.

*Beephew…*

Hearing the grenade go off in the air, I threw one Cryo grenade in the center of the smoke cloud and the other between the dumpsters.

Both of them let out a white smoke that contrasts from the smoke produced by the Concussion grenades.

With a combination of tactical grenades like this, we should be practically invisible to those ISes.

I pulled out the crowbar and embed it in the edge of the manhole cover to pry it up…

Getting one side of the cover out of the ground, Sideswipe and Scourge picked the cover up from where I pried it and moved it out of the way, revealing an opening into the sewers.

"Go, go, go!"

Sideswipe and Scourge jumped right in; as they did, I threw the crowbar into one of the dumpsters.

"_Uh, there's going to be shit everywhere…"_

Ratchet reluctantly jumped in and as he did, I began to climb down the ladder and grabbed the edge of the manhole cover, and as my whole body got down the hole, I dragged the cover over the hole to seal it…

As the only source of light in the dark sewers vanished, my visor switched to night vision.

"Everyone okay?"

"_Scourge and I are okay."_

"_Okay, we got away from those ISes, now what?"_

"..."

""...""

"..."

The only possible place we can go to for now is Tezla's house; we don't have any other choice given the circumstances. But then, the sewer systems tend to be huge mazes, we can easily get lost.

"Our only possible way of getting out of here is by getting to Tezla's house."

"_Which can possibly take hours…"_

Ratchet put his Flak Cannon away and looked further down one of the tunnel's direction.

"_Nah, screw that. I just got something on my visor."_

"_Oh yeah, what is it smart guy?"_

Shrugging off Ratchet's response, Sideswipe continued from where he left off.

"_Looks like I got something like a navigation system; route already set up and everything. Let me see on where it'll lead."_

A navigation system in the Silverbacks?

"_Alright, looks like we won't be lost down here. Hot Shot, let me take point."_

Sideswipe began to run down the tunnels and we all began to follow suit.

The reason why we're heading to Tezla's house is because our other means of transportation's there.

During the 6 months after Thunder Crash's disbandment, all 4 of us went to get ourselves a motorcycle license. The minimum age requirement to get one in Japan depends on the size of the motor cycle you want to ride.

You can be 16 years of age to get one, but the restriction is that you can only use small and mid-size motorcycles. Motorcycles that are up to a maximum of 400 CC. Large-size motorcycles are 400+ CC, and you need to be 18 years of age to get the license to ride them.

Sideswipe, Ratchet and I use 250 CC motorcycles and Scourge uses a 400 CC. The one thing that all of our motorcycles have in common is they're all sport-touring.

We originally had our motorcycles hidden in a bush by the dormitories, but when summer vacation began, Tezla moved them to his house for safe keeping. We don't have to worry about the suspicions of breaking and entering when we get to Tezla's house.

He informed the neighbors and the local police that a group of late teenage looking boys matcheing our descriptions will one day, go to his house, and they'll ride off with them. He told them to let them go because those are our motorcycles.

With Sideswipe leading the way, all of us were just running to Tezla's house.

* * *

><p><em><strong>1:36 PM, August 17 2021. Shinjuku Sewer System, Tokyo, Japan.<strong>_

"_Alright, looks like we're here."_

Sideswipe approached a ladder and began to climb up to the surface. And as he reached the top of the ladder, he pushed-up, then shifts the manhole cover and the sunlight shot through the hole, giving a bit of light in the sewer tunnel.

"_Wait a minute."_

Sideswipe stopped after Ratchet spoke.

"_For all we know, those ISes could still be out there looking for us. If we go out there now in our Silverbacks, they could pick up our energy signatures."_

"…"

He's right, being underground to a certain extent has hid out energy signatures from the ISes.

First thing to do is to deactivate them but how?

_**[Combat data acquired, deactivate the Silverback to commence Configuration Process into 1st Phase]**_

A feedback came up on my visor, looking passed it at Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge they seem look a bit puzzled judging by their body language. Seems they have the same feedback as well.

Thinking of possible ways for deactivating the combat armor, I feel the armor on my arms slowly folding itself from the tip of my arms and my helmet as well. The back of both legs had the same feeling but they stopped about half way, only leaving the frontal parts. Soon the armor folding on my arms and helmet stopped around my body. When it finished folding, the body and front leg armor turned into bluish-white Silhouettes and dissipated. After they dissipated, I feel an armor piece emerge on my left triceps.

"?"

I opened my eyes to find that I'm out of the combat armor. And it seems I'm not the only one.

Sideswipe, who's still on the ladder, is in his under skins. Under skins is something we normally wear under our combat armor so they can make the armor more comfortable to wear. But what's on Sideswipe's right triceps is an armor piece. And he doesn't really wear one.

Scourge on the, other hand, has a pauldron on his right shoulder. And as for Ratchet, he has a chest protector that you normally see on a BMX rider. From the looks of it, it protects his whole body and it actually looks like a much thinner version of his Thunder Crash armor.

All of us are out of our Silverbacks but we have an armor piece on us in return. I don't really feel the same energy that enveloped me a few moments ago.

"You think the ISes can pick up our energy signatures now?"

Ratchet took a look at the thin body armor on him.

"No, I don't think so…"

"Hey, if they do happen to find us, we'll just tell them that we've been left behind during the evac."

"Well, there's only one way to find out, Scourge."

I looked up at the opening above us that'll lead up to the surface, not really knowing if the ISes are out there waiting for us.

I approached the ladder and tapped Sideswipe to get down.

"I'll head up first to check if it's all clear. I'll give the 'go ahead' if it's all clear."

I slowly began ascending up the ladder, right into the sunlight…

* * *

><p><em><strong>1:58 PM, August 17 2021. Route 3 (Shuto Expressway), Tokyo, Japan.<strong>_

On this near abandoned portion of the highway are 4 sport-touring motorcycles, speeding on the pavement.

Each of them in their own color scheme; from front to back, the motorcycles are colored dark grey and navy blue, then gunmetal grey and onyx black, followed by navy blue and onyx black and dark silver and onyx black rounding up the pack.

Those who're riding them are actually 17-18 year old males, yet their body builds looks as though they're actually 20.

All 4 of them are exiting the Tokyo metropolitan area, heading to their desired destination. As for the motorcycle rider at the very front, he took a few glances of what's on his left triceps.

A carbon fiber looking plate is what he's looking at one every now and then as he rode.

Noticing a few overhead signs he narrowed his eyes to get a better reading of it. Some road signs in Japan, especially for major highways, have both the names in Japanese Kanji and English.

For the one they're approaching at high speed, the rider in front read the English name.

_**[Tomei Expressway]**_

Knowing that the route they're on will continue as the Tomei Expressway, the front rider began to speed up and the three behind began follow suit.

This expressway they're on will get them to their destination.

The Shizuoka Prefecture.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span>

Alright, that does it for chapter 9. I'm sorry that you had to wait for a while for this. I have too much personal matters offline to deal with.

And there's another thing you should know about this chapter. It's **technically the last chapter** for the **first story arc**. Whenever possible chance I'll get, I might get the next one maybe later this week, which will serve as the **Epilogue for this arc**. But I can't really say it for sure. For those who've waited for this chapter, thanks.

If you have any thoughts, or feedbacks, please write them as reviews.


	11. Phase 1-E (Epilogue)

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to IS: Infinite Stratos. This Fanfic is made just for entertainment and not for commercial use in anyway.

Author's Note: Alright, just like with chapter 9, I have mixed feelings about this one. Mainly because I feel like that I've might rushed it and it may be a bit confusing for some. Although, there's something you should look at after you finish reading this Epilogue, in reguards for the story continuing.

* * *

><p><em><strong>4:36 PM, August 17, 2012. Tezla's Lab, Thunder Crash Base.<strong>_

Multiple holographic screens are projected on a wall of the lab. Watching these screens stood a man in his 40s, changing views from one screen to another.

What are being shown on the holographic screens are news reports on the recent events that took part a few hours ago.

Footages of the event were played on some of the screens, while others are showing the news anchors saying their reactions about the events.

"Hmm…"

The man watching the cluster of screens is Daniel Tezla, former head Weapons and Armor Technician of Thunder Crash and creator of the Silverback Combat Armor.

"Never thought it would cause this much of a stir."

Tezla crossed his arms upon watching the recorded footage that's being show on one of the screens.

The footage shows one of the Silverbacks scaling the side of a building before jumping off of it, then grabbed hold of the IS's arm, swung himself up and over her and began to attack her as he got on her back.

Another footage is being shown on a different screen, this time the IS launching missiles at the group of Silverbacks. As the missiles flew at them, one of the Silverbacks launched a cylinder-canister out of a huge brown colored looking shotgun and it detonated right when it crossed paths with the missiles, unleashing a thick grey smoke cloud and prematurely detonating the hoard of missiles.

"Huh, the Concussion grenades setting armed explosives off prematurely... Never thought it would do that, but that's a plus..."

While Tezla muttered to himself as the footages played.

"_A rogue IS suddenly attacking a high school. One that's not involved with the IS, are we going to get some answers from the government about this whole incident?—"_

"_Don't you think that IS Academy will have a say in this matter?"_

When the video footages ended on the majority of the screens, the atmosphere was soon filled with debates about the matter being shown.

"Ha…"

Tezla sighed and multiple holographic screens were shutdown. Only a few of them were left on, but these screens are displaying data that was newly acquired.

"…"

After looking over those holographic screens, he took a look at the 4 armor pieces that are resting on his work table, all 4 of them connected to his computer terminal.

"With all of this data the sparks acquired from that whole fiasco, the combat armors ought to be well out of their Beta Phase by now…"

Tezla couldn't help being a bit astonished by the mass amounts of data being show on the holographic screens.

"And then there's…"

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small rectangular box. Looking at it with a very keen face, Tezla went to his work table and set the small box by the 4 armor pieces. He opened one of the sides of it and connected the wires to his terminal.

"Now, then…"

Just as he began his work to analyze the contents in that box, a blunt metallic sound echoed in the lab. Tezla turned to the source of the noise to find a blond haired male in his late teens walking towards him. He's in his under skins and is wearing frontal leg armor which happens to be attached to his slightly oversized boots. And on his head is a pair of blue workshop grade goggles.

"Tell _us_ your little story my friend…"

* * *

><p><em><strong>8:53 PM, August 18, 2012. Unknown Location.<strong>_

Inside a lit condominium filled with luxurious furniture, a woman with wavy brown hair had entered the living room from the bathroom.

"…"

A young light blond haired woman is keenly watching the news coverage of what happened over 24 hours ago.

"Squall…"

The blond haired turned her attention to the brown haired to find her in a bathrobe as she sat down on the sofa.

"…"

The room stayed silent for the next few seconds before Squall opened her mouth.

"The next thing to do is to find the right opportunity to steal them."

Squall eyeballed back at the holographic screen, with the Silverbacks being in the camera shot. The brown haired also did the same.

"So, they've finally showed themselves, huh?"

"Yes, Autumn. It went just as I expected."

"Exactly how are we going to steal them?"

As Autumn asked, Squall got up and placed herself on top of Autumn before answering.

"For starters…"

Squall placed her hands on the sides of Autumn's face. Soon, only a few centimeters are between their faces.

Looking at Squall's beauty up close, Autumn couldn't help but blush, looking like a young girl who found her first love.

Squall than moved her face closer and closer and whispered in her left ear.

"…"

At that moment, Autumn couldn't help but smile as Squall pulled herself away from her.

"Come on, get yourself all dressed up. You don't plan on doing this operation being partially in that, right?"

Autumn noticed that she's still in her bathrobe after hearing Squall and she couldn't help on crossing her arms to cover her breasts.

"Right…"

Seeing the cute look on her face, Squall smiled happily as she entered the bathroom.

* * *

><p><em><strong>6:21 PM, August 19, 2012. Tezla's Lab, Thunder Crash Base.<strong>_

It's been 2 days since we brought the Rogue IS down. Since then, the news channels have been nothing but that whole incident we were involved in.

The clusters of holographic screens above us were showing recorded footages of it. But all of the video footages that are being shown from varies news channels all stopped before IS Academy entered the fray.

Thinking back on that now, one of the things that has me thinking is that why would an rogue IS attack a place that has nothing to do with the IS?

I might get that answer today since Tezla and Ratchet wanted to show us what they found in that box Ratchet brought back with us.

They were standing in front of the huge cluster of holographic screens until all but one huge one shut down.

They both moved to Tezla's terminal and began to display the box's contents on the holographic screens.

What's being show to us is a series of files that are connected in a pattern like you normally see on a circuit board.

From what I can tell, it seems to be all okay, until a certain part is shown.

""?""

Noticing the reaction, Ratchet began to explain.

"Alright, listen up guys. In case if you don't know what's going on here, the Doc and I suspected that the IS we took down didn't go rogue by accident…"

All of us were a little shocked on seeing it. The file workings that are being show are different from what we saw before.

The patterns looked all rearranged and the files seemed to be re-written.

"What do you mean it wasn't by accident?"

I clenched my right fist.

"If this was by accident, then we would see something that's completely different from what we have here. Like signs of data corruption, something the Doc and I couldn't find."

Scourge kept on looking at the screen before asking.

"So if it wasn't by accident, then what cause her to go rogue?"

"Well..."

Tezla took over Ratchet on explaining.

"Judging that some of the files were actually re-written, Brian and I suspected that the IS was hacked."

Tezla took a sip out of the thermos I his hand before continuing.

"One of the signs of hacking is how different the coding and programming are from the vast majority of what's in the other files are written. As you can see…"

Ratchet opened a re-written file.

"The coding and programming are written in this file contrasts from the others.

Sideswipe turned to Tezla after hearing it.

"But then why hack it to attack a place that has nothing to do with the IS?"

"Taking that into consideration, Brian and I did a thorough analysis of the re-written files."

The holographic screen then switched over to a re-written file and Ratchet opened it.

"!-?"

"What the hell?..."

Sideswipe and Scourge are astonished of the file's content.

"Tch…"

I'm a bit shocked as well, but in more of an aggravated way.

"This file here is part of the IS's targeting system."

Ratchet took over from where Tezla stopped.

"Look at it. It should explain things itself…"

Ratchet showed the data on the holographic screen.

_**[Target: Silverback Combat Armor]**_

_**[Location: Ishiyama High School, Odaiba, Japan]**_

_**[Course of Action: Destroy on Site]**_

"And that's not all…"

Ratchet scrolled down to show more of the data.

Something we've least expected.

""!""

"Tch…"

_**[Possible Silverback Pilots:**_

_**Eric "Hot Shot" Anderson**_

_**Eddie "Sideswipe" Garcia**_

_**Brain "Ratchet" Mclurg**_

_**Clayton "Scourge" Maddox]**_

"…"

The lab filled with silence, the moment this was displayed.

After looking at the data, this doesn't really all quite add up on why it attacked Ishiyama High.

"Uh…"

Ratchet broke the silence.

"Well, whoever hacked the IS knew that we've been attending Ishiyama High, and also using the Silverbacks…"

"But why wait if it could've attacked sooner?"

Sideswipe looked puzzled now. I had a possible thought on this.

"Maybe the hacker was waiting for the right moment, but the soonest would've probably been some time after Tezla's Press Conference back in June."

Ratchet went into thought after hearing it from Sideswipe for a bit before speaking again.

"Uh, it's well after the Doc's Conference, so that's obviously when the hacker found out about the Silverbacks, along with the rest of the world. Then the hacker knew that we attend Ishiyama High and can use them. And here comes the slight tricky part…"

Ratchet paused for a bit and looked at the pilot names on the holographic screen.

"Possibly the hacker knew that we would go out and stop that IS from destroying the high school and possibly killing any of the students who happen to get caught in the crosshair…"

Upon hearing that, Sideswipe responded in mixture of surprise and anger.

"What the hell? You mean we were set up!-?"

"Uh yeah… Unless if the hacker targeted another location other than Ishiyama High…"

"Ha…"

I sighed as I tried to take in as much of the information that's given here.

"And here's something that really got the jump on me and the Doc just when we were about done analyzing the data…"

Ratchet changed the image on the holographic screen, exiting multiple files in each succession.

"Take a good look at the layout of the hacker's work…"

Then the portion of the circuit board that was hacked began to resemble the shape of an animal…

It has 2 long floppy looking ears at the top, upside down triangle-shaped nose, a pair of slightly oversized eyes, and whiskers on the cheeks.

Sideswipe seems to figure out what the pattern made out from the look on his face.

"Is that a bunny face?"

Scourge took a closer look…

"What the hell?..."

Ratchet got up and looked at the screen, as well as Tezla before I asked.

"But what kind of hacker would leave something like that?"

"One who sure has an over obsession for bunnies…"

Okay, this really doesn't make all that sense. The hacker hacked the IS we took down knowing that we would stop it with our Silverback. And the hacker provoked us into doing this by attacking Ishiyama High when there are still students on campus only to find out that it's the Silverbacks it's after… And then we find the hacker leaving some sort of calling card for us?

Exactly who is this hacker? And why cause that whole ruckus?

"..."

While we're in deep thought about this, Sideswipe took a look at the 4 armor pieces that are on resting on Tezla's workbench.

"So, when are we going to bring the fight to Phantom Task?"

I approached Tezla's workbench and picked up the left triceps armor piece, before I lightly clenched it.

"When the time is right, Sideswipe..."

I opened my hand and looked at the armor piece again. Looking at the armor piece, I began to see the face of a woman on it.

The woman whom I'm out to kill; my older brother's killer...

"..."

That sadistic look, that wavey brown hair, the beauty on her face that serves as a facade to cover up her sadistic and rash personality...

_Autumn..._

I tightly clenched the armor piece as I thought of her name.

"When the time is right..."

These 4 armor pieces, including the one in my hand, are actually the Silverbacks. But they're in what Tezla calls, their 'Stasis Phase'. From what he found out so far is that when they're in this phase, they're mainly in their self-repair state.

He mentioned that he's going to need to look at them for a while before we can use them again...

I'll take that as positive note because when we go up against Phantom Task, we're going to need them.

* * *

><p>In a room shrouded in darkness, other than the holographic screens projected being the only sources of light.<p>

Looking at the holographic screens is a woman wearing a maid looking outfit. The outfit's color's different from the typical black and while ones. As this one she's wearing is colored of sky-blue and white; similar to that in Alice in Wonderland. Not only she's wearing a maid outfit, she's also wearing a pair of mechanical bunny ears on her head.

"Fu—mu… they seem to be a lot tougher than I thought."

The owner of the room continued to mutter to herself as she looks at the data displayed on the screens.

The face that roughly appeared in the screen's light belonged to Tabane Shinonono.

"Even so, the destruction of the drone piloting the Uchigane Nishiki was unexpected…"

Humming what she said, she continued to look over the data that was sent back to her from the drone; data that comprised of the incident that happened on August 17, 2021.

That's right. The rogue IS that fought with the Silverbacks is the Uchigane Nishiki. The cause of it for going rogue is Tabane hacking it. Only she can hack an IS because nobody else in the world could.

"But, those Silverbacks did it with some unexpected help. If they didn't get it, then it would've taken them a longer time to bring it down. And…"

She looked at a video footage of one of the Silverbacks picking up another when it got down.

"It looks like they have weaknesses of their own."

Confirming on what she saw through the video footage relayed to her from the Uchigane Nishiki's drone pilot, Tabane couldn't help but smile, but half heartedly.

"What's unexpected though is Ik-kun and Houki-chan fighting the Silverbacks..."

Tabane watched the recorded footages relayed to her; showing Houki and the Akatsubaki being tackled to the ground and Ichika in the Byakushiki being tagged with a canister before the Silverback that was on his back kicked him away.

Upon watching the footages, she frowned at Ichika and Houki's performance in that fight.

"Fu—"

She opened 5 small holographic screens; each of them has a picture and personal information on a specific person.

_**[Eric Anderson]**_

_**[Eddie Garcia]**_

_**[Brian Mclurg]**_

_**[Clayton Maddox]**_

_**[Daniel Tezla]**_

All 5 of these names are involved with the Silverbacks; 4 of them being the users, and the other being the creator. And the creator aside, the 4 users all attend the same high school; Ishiyama High.

In order to obtain the combat data about the Silverbacks, Tabane hacked the Uchigane Nishiki's drone pilot and send it to attack that high school.

She expected them to come out in order to stop it, confirming that they did and getting the combat data, she smiled happily.

Tabane caused so much damage all just to get the data on a machine that can possibly rival that of hers.

As she continued to analyze the data, something caught her attention.

The Uchigane Nishiki's drone pilot had picked up some energy fluctuations from the Silverbacks during the fight.

"Fu—mu…"

Looking closely at it, she thought of the possibility that the Silverbacks can have similar functions to her ISes, in terms of growth.

Even though that could be a possibility, Tabane just thought that the power fluctuation as something that can affect the growth process.

With that thought out of her head, Tabane looked back at the 5 small holographic screens.

Out of the 5 that she has up, she's looking at 1 very carefully. The screen she's looking at contains Daniel Tezla's personal information.

With a slight smile on her face, she couldn't help but laugh a bit.

From the looks on her face, she seems to be very interested into him; like she wants to know everything about the Silverbacks through him.

"Well…"

She closed the 4 other small holographic screens, leaving Tezla's open.

"I hope that we will meet each other one day… Tez~la~san~"

Saying his name in a sing song manner, Tabane closed the small screen and continued to analyze the data she obtained through the Uchigane Nishiki.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span> And so ends the first story arc of Project Silverback. For those who have read this all the way to the end, thank you. I'm still in thinking about of continuing with the second story arc.

If I do make a second story arc, it'll tie into the actual canon story. This first story arc's mainly a sidestory to the canon. For those who read the IS Light Novels, you might have noticed that this whole story occured over the same time frame as the events of Vol. 1-4 in the IS Light Novels. The Flashback in the prologue happened around 5 months before the canon actually began.

If I continue to make the second story arc, it'll be tied into the actual canon story starting with the events in Vol. 5 of the IS Light Novels.

Now then, if you have any thoughts, or feedbacks, please write them as reviews.

Weather or not the story will continue with a second arc, is up to you guys.

And one last thing, there's a strong possibility that I'll be starting another Fanfiction for the time being. It's not going to be for IS Infinite Stratos.

It's a crossover story with Sword Art Online and Gears of War 3. Something that's been floating around in my mind after I finished watching the SAO anime and continued it by reading the Light Novels. With that said, this is going to be the last "chapter" that I'll be posting here for a while with IS Infinite Stratos.

With that said, later...


	12. Phase 2-0 (Prologue)

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to IS: Infinite Stratos. This Fanfic is made just for entertainment and not for commercial use in anyway.

Summary:

Set shortly after the events of Phase 1, the world is now known of Daniel Tezla's Silverback Combat Armor. Witnessing that it's virtually on par with the IS, the world has been in a stir due to the recent events. While all of this is going on, Eric "Hot Shot" Andersen and Alpha Squad are beginning the preperations of taking on Phantom Task, in order to gain vengeance for the death of Eric's older brother. What'll follow these ex-mercenaries, will make their preperations much more difficult.

Author's Note: I strongly apologize about the **severe** lack of update. The reason(s) for that will be explained after the end.

* * *

><p>Nightfall has cast over the ruins of a village in Mali, Africa.<p>

Some of the structures are set ablaze, lighting up the night sky.

The air in the whole village is filled with the stench of carcasses; presumably those of the villagers.

Before our arrival, we've received Intel that the destruction's been caused by an unknown terrorist group. The resistance group residing in the village was able to hold them off when we're in route to back them up, but then the radios suddenly went silent.

Right before the radios went silent, the resistance group reported that a mech flew in to reinforce the terrorists.

"…"

I checked one of the carcasses to assess the weapons the terrorist group was using; assessing them by the damages caused on the bodies.

I pointed to another carcass close by, and someone cautiously walked to it and assessed it.

The guy is clad in metallic full-body armor, sporting the colors of charcoal grey with black lining/accents. On his head is a headband that matches the armor.

It's Sideswipe; Eddie 'Sideswipe' Garcia.

"How's it look, Sideswipe?"

"_The guy didn't fare well, from what I can see. It may not look like it from where you are, but he's almost cut cleanly in half; what's left of his skin is what's holding both halves of his body together."_

I checked the carcass I assessed again and found large gashes from the waist up.

There's really no way a rifle bayonet can cause this much damage. Unless, if there's one recently made to do so…

"_I just hope that we'll find the rest of the resistance group."_

"_Or what's left of them."_

Standing behind me are two other guys. Just like Sideswipe, they're clad in metallic armor covering their whole bodies; arms, legs and all, except for their heads.

One of them has the color of dark blue with black lining/accents; on his forehead is a pair of workshop-grade goggles that matches his dark-blue armor.

This is Ratchet, Brian 'Ratchet' Mclurg.

The other guy is bigger than Ratchet and his armor contrasts from his; being slate grey with black lining/accents.

And like Sideswipe, he's wearing a headband that matches his armor's.

This big guy is Scourge, Clayton 'Scourge' Maddox.

How I'm able to clearly see the colors of their Silverbacks in the night's darkness is because of the 'night vision' on the helmet. The 'night vision' is not like the conventional ones, where it's a green hue to illuminate the dark; the night vision through these helmets makes the night time look like day time.

Even though the helmets we're wearing are there, they're actually transparent. I'm guessing it's because of our preference of not wearing helmets, due to the fact that they obscure our vision. A preference received during the Silverback's configuration process from its Beta Phase. In other words, our Silverbacks are in their First Phase. And this is our first go with them in this phase.

All four of us were sent to help out a resistance group, but from the looks of it, we may have been too late. But just may...

"Come on, there might be some survivors around."

All four of us cautiously walk deeper into the village.

The only sound in the air was the fire crackling from the buildings and piles of debris as we walked down the main road.

As we progressed further into the village, Sideswipe spotted something odd on the ground close by to us.

"_Hold on, you guys might want to see this."_

The spot on the ground Sideswipe indicated has a long arrow head shape to it, and a small rectangular behind it embedded about 5 centimeters (2 in.) deep in the ground.

"What do you think?"

Looking at the area around the odd shape in the ground, there's another one just like it. And I'm not the only one who noticed it.

"_Looks like they're footprints…"_

"_Footprints to what?"_

"I don't know, Scourge. But it seems that the mentioning of a mech arriving in that last radio contact isn't false…"

I looked further down the main road and at the end looks to be the central part of the village.

"There's only one way to find out."

Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge looked down the main road as I finished talking.

As they did, I pulled out my Saber and primed it in case if things go hairy.

Noticing this, everyone followed suit.

"Let's keep moving."

Cautiously walking to the village's central area, the structures we're passing by began to show signs that they haven't been bombarded with artillery or explosives, but riddled with cuts and slashes.

The looks on them are closer to that of claw marks.

As we got closer to the central area, there are no signs of the remaining members of the resistance group.

The only signs we've seen of them so far were their carcasses, and carcasses are never a good sign.

"…"

"…"

Continuing on in silence to the central area, more of those arrow-shaped footprints are on the ground; heading in the same direction as we are.

"Hmm…"

I tighten the grip on my Saber's handle; you don't know what might come up.

"!..."

Speaking of which, there's movement on a small pile of debris close by. I stopped and aimed my gun at it and everyone did the same, waiting to see what's in that pile.

A few seconds of staring, a low whimpering sound came from the pile. Shortly after, the source of the sound appeared, walking around the pile.

"…"

We all lowered our guns upon seeing it. Sideswipe took a few steps towards it.

"_A stray dog…"_

"_You think that dog's owner is still around?"_

When Scourge asked, I noticed the collar around its neck, and a short chain hanging off of it. Also the carcasses close by…

"I doubt it."

"_You think he can lead us to the resistance group?"_

"Well, we don't know for sure if they're still around. Come on, let's keep moving."

Just as we began walking down the main road, the dog we spotted decided to tag along. I'm not all that good with animals, but he seems to take a liking to Scourge.

We've reached the central area of the village.

"..."

Or what's left of it…

The place is littered with wooden shelves that have been blown to splinters; some of them are bonfires. If we have the night vision off, the bonfires would be illuminating the whole area and covering it in a fiery orange hue.

The surrounding buildings have massive holes caused by artillery, grenades or even RPGs. Some of them have black scorch marks around them.

One thing that's rather odd is the footprints heading to this area suddenly stopped; it's like what made them disappeared.

We all began to scan the area for any signs of the resistance group, but there's nothing.

All of us came up empty…

"_I don't know, Hot Shot. It seems that they either ran for it, or they've been taken out."_

"_Obviously they've been taken out. There is not a single trace of them high tailing out of the village."_

Ratchet was looking down the other side of the central area; the road he spotted isn't littered with any debris. If they did high tail it, we would see signs like footprints leading out of the central area, and weapons or other things being dropped and left behind; littering the road they took to get out.

Assuming that the resistance group's been wiped out, we have no other reason to stay here. So much for this assignment…

"Alright, let's head to the extraction point, and get out. There's no point in staying here."

When we began to make our way out of the village, a growling sound resonated beside Scourge…

"""_!..."""_

The dog turned to what's left of one of the buildings, growling like it's about to give chase if something were to entered its space. I've seen dogs do this before from time to time when I was in Thunder Crash. This normally means that something's up.

Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge knew this as well and they have their Sabers up, as well as I.

*Thud…*

Aiming towards the same structure the dog's growling at, all of us are ready for what's to come.

*Thud.*

Whatever's on the other side knows that we're here, and we're ready for it…

*BOOM!*

The structure blew open as we jumped back to avoid the incoming rubble.

*Klunk.*

What caused it came floating in. It's around 3 meters (roughly 10 Ft.) tall; having over sized arms and legs, yet the body has a very feminine figure.

But what really caught my attention, is how the hands are shaped. The finger tips are pointed, no…

They look more like demon claws. Looks like we found what made those claw marks we passed by earlier.

"_Hugh!"_

Ratchet took note of this as well, and he made a huge leap back, Saber ready. Sideswipe broke off from Scourge and me.

"_Damn it! An IS!-?"_

Sideswipe leapt on top of a ruined sandstone structure, while keeping his aim.

The last radio contact mentioned a mech entering the fray before we got here. Seems that this IS is what they were talking about, and what took out the resistance, huh?

From the looks alone, it seems that this is a Melee type IS.

"Tch…"

I jumped back a bit as I pulled the trigger to engage her.

Blue plasma bolts went flying at her in an alarming rate.

"—"

At the last second, she dodged and immediately went after Scourge, but he's ready for her as well. Firing his Saber at her, Scourge backed off whenever she slashed her claws at him.

The shots hit her, but she's not slowing down.

And when she closed the gap between them, Scourge raised his Saber.

*Kkrr-r-r-r-r-r-r-rgh!*

Scourge is in a deadlock with the IS; sparks are showering down on him as he's holding off one of her claws with his Chainsaw Bayonet.

Ratchet noticed the free claw under her and she's getting ready to thrust at Scourge.

"_Shit…"_

He took aim at her but not liking the angle he's aiming from, he moved to take a better aim at the IS's right side, moving a bit closer.

While getting the ideal angle, he put his Saber on his back and his right arm from the forearm began to take a different shape; the armor in his right forearm extends over and covers his right hand. When it finished taking shape, the end of his right arm had become an arm cannon.

The arm cannon has a very familiar, large shotgun like shape to it, his arm cannon is actually his Flak Cannon.

*Click* *Clack* *Bam!*

Energy infused shells came at her with an explosive-like knockback as they struck her, causing her to break off from Scourge.

When the IS backed away from him, Ratchet went to check on him.

To keep the pressure on her, Sideswipe began to unload on her with his Saber as he jumped down.

Turning to Sideswipe, she pulled one of her claws back as she rushes towards him.

As she's rushing to him, the claw she pulled back was about to strike him as he's in mid-air.

From Sideswipe's view, he's unaware of the last minute attack she's going to do, as he's looking down on her from an angle where her body figure's blocking the ready-to-strike claw.

I pulled out my Desert Rangers and fired multiple shots at her. The shots hit her with each moment the trigger is pulled on each gun.

This disrupted her momentum and Sideswipe landed on her back as he began to thrash her about.

To help him I continued firing at her.

*PA!* *PA!* PA!* PA—*

Both pistols are out of shots, and as I'm recharging the shots…

*Tack…*

"What the!-?"

I looked at both pistols…

"Ha-agh!"

One of them had jammed; the cause of it is from recharging it too fast.

Shortly after that fight with the rogue IS back at Ishiyama, Tezla upgraded our Sabers, Desert Rangers and Ratchet's Flak Cannon. They can do more damage, both physically and energy wise. But the drawback he mentioned is their shots have to be recharged manually if needed. Recharging them is like reloading a typical gun; remove the empty clip and replace it with another one that's filled with ammunition.

But on the weapons Tezla upgraded, the clip is actually the container for the shots, and they're physically attached to the gun itself. When a shot is fired, the plasma/energy is released as they travel and when they're traveling through the gun's 'barrel', the barrel 'catches' the released plasma/energy. Then they're transferred into the gun's converter to generate more plasma/energy. Then they're transferred to the gun's clip, ready to be fired.

This system allows these weapons to recharge their shots on their own, but when the shots aren't being fired faster than their recharge system to make up for them.

When the clip is empty, then it has to be recharged manually. Just pull the clip down and the gun will transfer the plasma/energy in its converter into the clip. Push the clip back in, pull back the primer and the gun's recharged. And there's a drawback that Tezla didn't mention; jamming…

When I hastily pushed the clip back in, it jammed. I had to pull the gun's primer back so I can pull the clip back out. Then push the clip back in and prime the gun again so the jam will be fixed.

Just as I fixed the jam, Sideswipe jumped off of the IS as Scourge and Ratchet had began providing support fire.

*Bang!*

As Sideswipe jumped off, the shots stormed on her; knocking her about towards Sideswipe; Sideswipe, pulled his Saber back out and added more to the downpour.

With each hit she's receiving, she's struggling to recover from the constant barrage.

**Shew-phew!**

Seeing it as a sign of the IS is weakening, both of my combat blades are deployed. Unlike when the Silverback was in its Beta Phase, where they're solid metal straight-edge blades, these blades are slightly serrated and energy infused.

After deploying the blades, I made a charged to the IS while she's trying to recover from the constant rain of plasma bolts and energy infused shells.

When I was about to strike her with a horizontal slash…

*KLING!*

She deflected it at the last moment. I jumped back for an alternative strike, but as I did, she deflected and blocked each one.

Every time our blades make contact, sparks scatter between us. With this not working I backed off and pulled both Desert Rangers and fired both simultaneously at her.

She put both claws up in front of her to block each shot. As I landed, her legs are exposed and before she put her arms down, I made a huge lung towards her.

**KLASH!**

New red glowing slash marks are on both legs, before the IS began to buckle a bit from the sudden attack.

I jumped back to avoid her and when she's down on her knees, I made another charge.

*KLAMP!*

As I was about to strike her head, she got hold of my left blade and began to stand up. Recovering from the slashes I inflicted on her.

With me dangling in the air, the IS was about to thrust her free claw. But before she can…

*Kr-rschk-k!*

I swung my right blade up at the arm she's using to hold me, completely severing a part of her arm off.

The right arm of the IS landed right next to me as I hit the ground, severed at the middle of the forearm.

She stumbled back a bit as I got up. With both blades still deployed, I dismounted them from their forearm mounts and reversed gripped them before I made a huge jump on her before she regained her balance.

*Krschk!*

As I got on her, I stabbed my right blade in her head where would the left eyeball would be if a human was piloting it, used it to pull myself up and climbed around her head to get on her upper back, placed my left blade in the right side of the IS's neck.

"Mrr-r-r-r-r-ra-agh!"

I spread both my arms apart, severing the IS's head from her feminine body.

Just as her body is about fall, I jumped off her back, with her head still on my right combat blade.

"…"

*DUHN!*

The IS's headless body crashed to the ground as Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge came in to check the damage.

"""…"""

I looked at them to see if they're okay; even though Scourge got banged up a bit, he's fine.

As we're checking on the IS, a voice sounded through the radio comms.

"_Good. That was very good, Eric."_

* * *

><p>"<em>That should do it for today."<em>

"Yeah…"

After speaking to Tezla through the radio comms, the ruined village slowly de-materializes as the armor on the upper legs, arms and helmet of our Silverbacks fold towards the body, the lower back part of the legs as well but they fold to the frontal parts.

With the Silverbacks folding into body and frontal leg armor, they're in their Standby Phase.

When the village finished de-materializing, the surrounding area was a large open space with metallic walls and at the upper parts of the walls were small lights beginning to shut off.

That whole skirmish with that IS, was actually a combat training session in Tezla's lab. The reason we've done that is to see if the Silverback's fit right for all four of us now that they're in their First Phase. And to test the new upgrades Tezla did on our Sabers, Desert Rangers and Ratchet's Flak Cannon.

All four of us walked out of the simulator area to find Tezla conducting his work. Most likely it's about the data acquired from that session.

While he's checking the data, I think it's a good time to tell him about the jamming I had on one of my Desert Rangers. But before I can do so, he asked us something.

"Can you guys place them on their racks in their Standby Phase? I got some work to do on them later and they need to be in their Standby Phase for it."

As soon as he asked, we all removed and placed the Silverbacks on their respectful racks. I don't know what he needs to do with them so soon, with them just entering their First Phase. But then again, these Silverbacks are his creations.

After placing them in their racks, Sideswipe, Ratchet and Scourge went to the showers. Me, on the other hand, I have something to tell Tezla and walked to his work desk.

But as I got up to his desk, he got up before telling him.

"Tezla, there's something I need to tell you on what happened in the simulator."

He didn't even turn to me but he soon replied as he began to go through some of the papers on his desk.

"I'm afraid that it'll have to wait, Eric. Right now, I have an emergency session to get ready for."

"…"

It's been about a week since our fight with that rogue IS and the IS Academy students. Since then, the whole world's been on edge and the government leaders are calling in for an emergency session and Tezla's obviously has a strong involvement in this as well. Last I checked, it'll be broadcasted live for the whole world to see.

"Tezla, we're going with you in case if anything happens."

He stopped sorting his work after I finished speaking.

"That won't be necessary, Eric. I got some things up my sleeve. And it may not look like it; I can still handle things myself when I have to."

"Come on, Tezla…"

"Eric, it's okay. And besides, you guys don't want any of the unwanted attention, right? Not when you're in the middle of a personal life mission?"

"…"

"…"

"Yeah…"

"…"

Silence fell between us; it's surprising on how Tezla's going through great lengths just to help out. It's not to restore the balance of power; it's more of a personal thing for us.

"Well, alright then. It's getting late, Eric. Get some rest; you guys are going to need it when the emergency session ends."

"Right..."

A lot has happened in the past week, starting with that rogue IS attacking Ishiyama. And fighting against some of IS Academy's students, just added more fuel to the fire.

What's going to happen in that emergency session? I don't know…

But one thing's for sure; I have a bad feeling on what's going to happen after.

* * *

><p><span>Author's Note:<span> Alright, **now read closely guys**.

I know that it's been more than a year since I've last updated this fanfic. That and I gave you all a heads up that I could be writing a crossover story of Gears of War 3 and Sword Art Online at the time. I know that I've said it repeatedly (like a busted record player), but I just couldn't find the time to actually write it because of personal matters offline. That and I really couldn't find a connection between the two series/franchises to start the crossover off.

So basically, there's _**no**_ crossover of Gears of War 3 and Sword Art Online. From me at least.

Now, as for Project Silverback...

I'm afraid that the time between the last update _**(1/5/2013)**_ and this Prologue of Phase 2 being posted, this prologue has been the **_only_** thing that I've "officially" written. Personal matters going on offline have been putting a severe impact on writing this. Not having as much spare time to actually write this is only the start of it. They've been having as much of an impact on me, that...

Last year (May 2013), I have actually been **_hospitalized_** due to a psychological or emotional meltdown. I even had suicidal thoughts around that time...

Since then, I've lost it on whether or not if I can continue writing Project Silverback. I've done what I can to see if I can still continue. From going to Fan Forums, to talking about it with my real life anime-fan relatives. I even watched Season 2 of IS's Anime Adaptation to see if I can use that as reference material, besides the Light Novels. But I can't use that because 8-bit Studios (the Animation Studio that did IS's Anime Adaptation) just had to toss actual content they had from the Light Novels out the window.

All in all, to say that I'm in a huge loss right now would be an understatement.

To all of my followers of this story; I strongly apologize about the massive long wait, only to give you guys this. But thanks for hanging in there...

And if you guys want to stop following this Fic, and/or remove it from your Alert and Favorites lists, I don't blame you.

Later, guys...


End file.
